5 ms·

I feel like this is at least partially attributable to how we get our entertainment too. During the postwar era, there wasn't an infinite variety of media to co

I feel like this is at least partially attributable to how we get our entertainment too. During the postwar era, there wasn't an infinite variety of media to consume -- TV shows were on at a set time, on one of four channels, between 6:00pm and 12:00am. Compare that to binge watching on Netflix, and you see people engaging in hobbies less regularly, less intensely. Couple that with the fact that travel is way easier, and you see disposable income (to the extent that anyone has disposable income) being spent on fleeting things rather than the tools to engage in a serious hobby. I don't feel like either of the above are a bad thing, but they could just as easily be contributing factors to the lack of hobbies in the modern era. I'm sure that there are a wide variety of others, too, from lack of work/life balance (hello, corporate smartphone) to the lack of hobby education (bye bye, wood shop class, metal shop class, home economics class), plus ones that I'm not thinking of. What hobbies do people engage in now? Were those things hobbies back in the 50's or just necessary chores?

parennoob 10y ago
I agree, most people who would have been pressing flowers like the author's great aunt are now playing Farmville all day, also "just because they like it". In fact, I think this is more a problem with older people and retirees – I don't exactly know why, but they seem to get into social media and useless games with a ferocity far exceeding that of younger generations.
- CaptSpify 10y ago
  Potentially because of having more free time, and a harder time doing physical activities?
pm90 10y ago
I think you're premises are right but the analysis may not be accurate. As you say, travel is much cheaper now than what it used to be enabling a lot more people to travel, even if they're not upper class/rich. The other point about Netflix: while Netflix binge watching is something that I've enjoyed on many occassions, it has changed my whole perception of entertainment from a "let me build my timetable around the TV schedule" to a "I will do what I like" one, which I find much more desirable. There are a lot of hobbies today, in fact one of the best parts about the US being as open and multicultural is the amount of options you have for hobbies. So there's fitness, yoga, mixed martial arts. There's sports: Tennis, Kickball, Volleyball etc. There are the hackerspace/makerspaces sprouting up everywhere. The internet has made it incredibly easy to find recipes and learn cooking (youtube videos is how I learned cooking). There are multitudes of dancing styles and events. Need I go on?
Grishnakh 10y ago
>What hobbies do people engage in now? This entirely depends on the demographic group in question. If, for instance, you're wondering about the hobbies of single 20-40-something women in urban areas of the US, from what I see it seems to be lots and lots of foreign travel, especially to really backwards parts of Africa and the Middle East. And going to bars a lot. And having kids by IVF. For single men in this age range, it seems to be working all the time, or being in a drug or alcohol-induced haze most of the time.
- Chinjut 10y ago
  You consider having kids by IVF to be... a... hobby?
  - Grishnakh 10y ago
    I looked up the definition of "hobby" and got this: "an activity or interest pursued for pleasure or relaxation and not as a main occupation" So yeah, it seems to fit the definition. Remember, these women aren't doing this as part of a marriage or other relationship with a partner, they're doing it all by themselves. Unlike other people who usually find a partner to procreate with, and then share the duties and responsibilities of child-rearing, these women apparently are unable to maintain a long-term relationship, but they have plenty of money, so like some people like to buy expensive pets, these women get IVF and have a kid, and then hire a full-time nanny or au pair to raise it since they're always busy with work, going to the bar, going to cultural events, hanging out with their single female friends, etc. But for that minority of time they want to feel like a "parent", they'll have the kid there and can do something with him/her. Sounds like a hobby to me. Not too different from some rich guy with 30 cars in his garage, and he might take any particular car out for a spin once a month or less, but he can afford full-time mechanics and detailers to take care of them in the meantime.
    - Chinjut 10y ago
      I don't think many women fit the image you have created. You seem to me unduly judgmental of people you don't actually know very well, if at all. I'll leave it at that.
ep103 10y ago
Bowling Alone - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowling_Alone https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowling_Alone This is basically the thesis of the book I just linked. Its probably one of the more important politically oriented pieces I've ever read.

parennoob 10y ago

I agree, most people who would have been pressing flowers like the author's great aunt are now playing Farmville all day, also "just because they like it". In fact, I think this is more a problem with older people and retirees – I don't exactly know why, but they seem to get into social media and useless games with a ferocity far exceeding that of younger generations.

CaptSpify 10y ago
Potentially because of having more free time, and a harder time doing physical activities?

pm90 10y ago

I think you're premises are right but the analysis may not be accurate. As you say, travel is much cheaper now than what it used to be enabling a lot more people to travel, even if they're not upper class/rich. The other point about Netflix: while Netflix binge watching is something that I've enjoyed on many occassions, it has changed my whole perception of entertainment from a "let me build my timetable around the TV schedule" to a "I will do what I like" one, which I find much more desirable. There are a lot of hobbies today, in fact one of the best parts about the US being as open and multicultural is the amount of options you have for hobbies. So there's fitness, yoga, mixed martial arts. There's sports: Tennis, Kickball, Volleyball etc. There are the hackerspace/makerspaces sprouting up everywhere. The internet has made it incredibly easy to find recipes and learn cooking (youtube videos is how I learned cooking). There are multitudes of dancing styles and events. Need I go on?

Grishnakh 10y ago

>What hobbies do people engage in now? This entirely depends on the demographic group in question. If, for instance, you're wondering about the hobbies of single 20-40-something women in urban areas of the US, from what I see it seems to be lots and lots of foreign travel, especially to really backwards parts of Africa and the Middle East. And going to bars a lot. And having kids by IVF. For single men in this age range, it seems to be working all the time, or being in a drug or alcohol-induced haze most of the time.

Chinjut 10y ago
You consider having kids by IVF to be... a... hobby?
- Grishnakh 10y ago
  I looked up the definition of "hobby" and got this: "an activity or interest pursued for pleasure or relaxation and not as a main occupation" So yeah, it seems to fit the definition. Remember, these women aren't doing this as part of a marriage or other relationship with a partner, they're doing it all by themselves. Unlike other people who usually find a partner to procreate with, and then share the duties and responsibilities of child-rearing, these women apparently are unable to maintain a long-term relationship, but they have plenty of money, so like some people like to buy expensive pets, these women get IVF and have a kid, and then hire a full-time nanny or au pair to raise it since they're always busy with work, going to the bar, going to cultural events, hanging out with their single female friends, etc. But for that minority of time they want to feel like a "parent", they'll have the kid there and can do something with him/her. Sounds like a hobby to me. Not too different from some rich guy with 30 cars in his garage, and he might take any particular car out for a spin once a month or less, but he can afford full-time mechanics and detailers to take care of them in the meantime.
  - Chinjut 10y ago
    I don't think many women fit the image you have created. You seem to me unduly judgmental of people you don't actually know very well, if at all. I'll leave it at that.

ep103 10y ago

Bowling Alone - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowling_Alone https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowling_Alone This is basically the thesis of the book I just linked. Its probably one of the more important politically oriented pieces I've ever read.