how to mess around with computers?

[eternalworm2008]

I want to be good with computers, whatever that means. not only in a software perspective (which im currently failing, which has lead to people calling me a larper, i think this could be true) but also in hardware. i want to be able to open up a pc or laptop and understand what im looking at and what i can do with it. i dont know what this hobby is called so i dont know where to look. i want to be lain!

[ThunderPerfectWitchcraft]

The traditional way of learning a bit about hardware is to build a computer yourself. I'd recommend to wait till you need a new computer anyway for various reasons, including costs and environmental considerations. There are good tutorials, forums and websites available for this question; https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/wiki/index/ might be a good start.

If you want to learn about software, try to learn a programming language; a scripting language is a good start, and a easy language (like Pascal) might be a good entry, but things like C/C++ will have the most benefit and will offer the deepest insight in regards of learning. I also recommend using Linux (preferably not one of the Distributions focused on user-friendliness, but something like Debian/Slackware/Arch, if you really want to learn), as it does not try to hide its mechanics from the user.

[ocean]

It's hard to give you much advice with any real direction, because learning about computers is such a general concept. I think you've already completed the hardest step of your journey by simply desiring to learn more. You can learn a lot about hardware from youtube. Theres a ton of youtube channels in the vein of Linus Tech Tips that will entertain you and also teach you lots of important hardware concepts. Software is a little more tricky. Keep up your learning on CSS and HTML!