Here’s a question for y’all: what do you consider a casual computer user to be doing? What activities they do and what programs you guys think they use?
I think that many people are not aware of what a computer is capable of. Most computers are completely out of proportion.
WhatsApp, Facebook, YouTube. The order is of course interchangeable at any time.
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Email, YouTube, browse web, shop, banking, maybe work related tasks while at home.
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Stuff in the browser.
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Video streaming, social media, gaming, email, shopping, banking, document editing.
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what games?
You don’t need to be a heavy gamer to do gaming on a PC.
At the very least, what comes to my mind is GTA and FIFA/FC.
I think what you meant is “casual gaming”. And that “you don’t need to be a “gamer” to play heavy games”.
I could be wrong. But this is how I read and interpreted it. Gamers are a separate category of computer users, is what I’m saying. While people who casually game can be in any other category of computer user, whether it’s a light or heavy game.
Regarding the topic’s question:
Like others said: they are in their web browsers mostly, while doing other stuff as well, like streaming through a dedicated app, editing personal and work docs, etc. And the power of their device, as illustrated in the first response, has nothing to do with it. 
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Basic viewing and editing of documents and web browsing seem to be the majority of people I know.
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That’s what I would suggest as well. And perhaps some zoom/skype sort of application.
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Honestly when I think of the stereotypical ‘casual’ computer user I have to imagine the answer is not a lot in a world where smartphones exist, or I might even go as far as saying even potentially “there is no such thing as a casual computer user anymore”.
Go back in time maybe a decade or so and I’d have said a ‘casual computer user’ was mostly just using it for a web browser and very little else, since the browser was the portal to banking, shopping, searching, etc, but smartphones and apps have replaced pretty much all of that.
Here in 2024 they can do all of that with their phone, and a traditional computer is entirely superfluous to a casual user’s needs. For clarity - I don’t consider, for example, students who must use a computer for school work or a person who owns or operates a small business using their personal computer for work tasks (even simple things such as e-mail) as ‘casual’ users, as those things are essentially mandatory - I don’t believe something you have to do could ever be classed as a ‘casual’ activity.
The only exception remains for the rare few who make use of word processors or spreadsheet software in their personal lives for either hobbyist writing or budgeting or such things, which I have to imagine is more of a holdover habit for older generations now rather than something younger people are doing.
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Besides web browsing and reading email, gaming, writing documents and creating invoices.
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No, but at the same time, for casual gamers, I would have imagined consoles would be more popular than PC. Gaming on PC can be nebulous and it isn’t exactly easy at times too.
So casual is not work…
That means a lot of YouTube, open a browser - look at feeds and browse net.
Some messaging via Telegram/Discord or whatever…
Photos, maybe a little less nowadays, but possibly download and manage photos and videos.
Then next level maybe some TV (use as HTPC), open browser, search for Jenna Ortega nude whilst watching Wednesday
Open feeds - maybe catch up on some news.
Download, listen to music.
Play games.
Some of the ‘casual’ users I know have 1 or 2 ‘extra’ tasks in mind. Beyond the occasional browser useage, some I know spend AGES in music acquisition, sorting, playlisting, converting, upgrading and playback! Another is heavily into art-based - GIMP, Blender, Inkscape - whatever.
Without these specialities, though, the browser is probably the king…
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Interesting question. I constantly see online how the average user basically just uses a browser and while I don’t necessarily disagree with that. I think that there are no average / casual users anymore. Everyone is more of a semi power user instead. As in they need to do one or two complicated things, but don’t understand how or why what they are doing works.
For example, I’m constantly seeing more and more people who I would consider average users having to touch the registry editor and the terminal in Windows in order to do something that Microsoft removed or undo a change they didn’t like. They don’t actually understand what they are doing, but are randomly following guides. If it works they never look deeper.
Ultimately, I think that @freebird54 's comment sums this up and is good example of what I’m talking about. The average / casual user is someone who probably has a couple of specialty tasks and other than that they use a browser.
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d*ck around and pretend to work
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TIL my company issued laptop makes me a casual computer user 
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