Learn Hardcore Spanish (Latin America): Sin límites claros, pierdo horas y horas viendo videos y luego me siento culpable y preocupado, igual que cuando era adolescente. - Without clear limits, I lose hours watching videos and then I feel guilty and worried, just like when I was a teenager.

but that version sounds more like “I watch videos that don’t have clear limits” (i.e., describing the videos), not “I, personally, don’t set clear limits.” Starting with “Sin límites claros,” makes it clear you’re talking about your own lack of self-imposed limits and sets up the rest of the sentence as a consequence of that situation.

Why is it “límites claros” and not “claros límites”?

In Spanish, the normal order is:

noun + adjective → límites claros

So:

límites claros = clear limits
un problema serio = a serious problem
una casa grande = a big house

You can put the adjective before the noun (claros límites), but:

That order is unusual here.
It often gives a more literary, poetic, or emphatic tone.
In this specific phrase, “claros límites” would sound a bit strange and not natural in everyday speech.

So “límites claros” is the natural, neutral way to say “clear limits.”

Why is “pierdo” used here instead of something like “gasto” for “I spend hours and hours”?

Both verbs can be related to time, but the nuance is different:

perder tiempo = to waste time, to lose time in a negative way.
gastar tiempo = to spend time (often also with a sense of wasting, but slightly less emotional).

In the sentence:

pierdo horas y horas viendo videos

the person is emphasizing that the time is lost in a way they don’t feel good about. So “pierdo” perfectly matches the later part:

...y luego me siento culpable y preocupado...

If you said:

Gasto horas y horas viendo videos,

it might sound a bit less regretful, more neutral or factual. “Pierdo” fits the idea of regretted, wasted time.

What does the repetition “horas y horas” express?

The structure “X y X” in Spanish is common for emphasis and exaggeration, like in English “hours and hours” or “again and again.”

horas y horas = a lot of hours, an excessive amount
It gives a feeling of frustration or exaggeration, not an exact count.

Other examples:

llovió días y días = it rained for days and days
hablamos y hablamos = we talked and talked

So “pierdo horas y horas” suggests a long, excessive time, not literally counted.

Why is it “viendo videos” and not “ver videos” after “pierdo horas y horas”?

“Viendo videos” uses the gerund (present participle):

ver = to watch
viendo = watching

In Spanish, after verbs like pasar (tiempo) or implicit “spend/lose time” expressions, it’s common to use the gerund to show what you’re doing during that time:

Paso el día trabajando. = I spend the day working.
Perdí toda la tarde hablando por teléfono. = I wasted the whole afternoon talking on the phone.

So:

pierdo horas y horas viendo videos
= I waste hours and hours watching videos.

You could say “en ver videos”, but:

“viendo videos” sounds more natural and fluid in everyday speech.
The gerund form clearly expresses ongoing activity during that time.

Why is it spelled “videos” and not “vídeos”?

The difference is mostly regional and orthographic:

In Latin America, the usual spelling is “video(s)” (without an accent).
In Spain, you’ll often see “vídeo(s)” with an accent.

Both refer to the same thing (videos). Since you specified Latin American Spanish, “videos” is the expected and natural spelling.

What does “luego” mean here, and could you use “después” instead?

Here, “luego” means “then / afterwards.” It links two consecutive actions:

...pierdo horas y horas viendo videos y luego me siento culpable...
= ...I waste hours and hours watching videos, and then I feel guilty...

You can definitely say:

...y después me siento culpable...

“luego” and “después” are very close in meaning here. In this context:

luego = then, afterward
después = afterwards, later

Both are perfectly natural Latin American Spanish in this sentence.

Why is it “me siento” and not just “siento” before “culpable y preocupado”?

In Spanish:

sentir (non-reflexive) usually means “to feel (something), to sense, to regret.”
- Siento dolor. = I feel pain.
- Siento mucho lo que pasó. = I’m very sorry for what happened.
sentirse (reflexive: me siento, te sientes, etc.) means “to feel [a certain way / in a certain state].”
- Me siento cansado. = I feel tired.
- Me siento feliz. = I feel happy.

Because “culpable y preocupado” are states/feelings, you need the reflexive form:

Me siento culpable y preocupado. ✅
Siento culpable y preocupado. ❌ (incorrect)

So “me siento” is the correct way to say “I feel [adjective].”

Why are the adjectives “culpable y preocupado” in the masculine form, and how would this change if the speaker is female?

Adjectives in Spanish agree with the gender and number of the subject:

The subject here is “yo” (I).
The default written example is assumed to be masculine singular.

So:

culpable: same form for masculine and feminine
preocupado: masculine singular

If the speaker is female, only “preocupado” changes:

Me siento culpable y preocupado. (male speaker)
Me siento culpable y preocupada. (female speaker)

“culpable” does not change form with gender:

él es culpable / ella es culpable

What does “igual que” mean here, and how is it different from just using “como”?

“Igual que” means “just like / the same as.”

In the sentence:

...igual que cuando era adolescente.
= ...just like when I was a teenager.

You could also say:

...como cuando era adolescente.

Differences in nuance:

igual que often emphasizes equality or exact similarity:
- Es igual que antes. = It’s just like before.
como is more general: “like / as”.

Both are natural here; “igual que” sounds a bit stronger, like “in exactly the same way as when I was a teenager.”

Why is it “cuando era adolescente” and not “cuando fui adolescente”?

This is about the imperfect (era) vs preterite (fui) past tenses:

era (imperfect of ser) describes:
- ongoing states, background, or repeated situations in the past.
- cuando era adolescente = when I was a teenager (during that stage of life).
fui (preterite) is for completed, finished actions or specific past events.

Being a teenager is a period/state, not a single completed event, so:

cuando era adolescente ✅
cuando fui adolescente ❌ (sounds wrong/very odd in this context)

We use “era” to place the actions/feelings in that ongoing past stage of life.

Why is there a comma before “igual que cuando era adolescente”?

The comma separates:

The main statement:
- ...y luego me siento culpable y preocupado,
The comparison/explanation:
- igual que cuando era adolescente.

This is similar to English:

“…and then I feel guilty and worried, just like when I was a teenager.”

The comma before “igual que”:

makes the sentence easier to read,
shows that what follows is an aside/comparison to the previous clause.

You might see it without a comma in shorter sentences, but here the comma is standard and clear.

Could you say “veo videos horas y horas” instead of “pierdo horas y horas viendo videos”?

Yes, but the meaning and focus change:

Veo videos horas y horas.
= I watch videos for hours and hours.
- Focus: the activity (watching videos) and its duration.
Pierdo horas y horas viendo videos.
= I waste hours and hours watching videos.
- Focus: the waste of time and implicit regret.

The original phrasing with “pierdo” connects better with:

...y luego me siento culpable y preocupado...

because it already presents the time as lost or wasted, not just “spent.”

Is there any difference in meaning between “preocupado” here and English “worried”?

“Preocupado” in this context is very close to English “worried.”

Me siento preocupado. = I feel worried.

It can also sometimes have a nuance like “preoccupied / anxious / disturbed by something,” but here, paired with “culpable”, it clearly means emotionally worried or anxious about having wasted time.