2 ms·

Am I the only one who wants to call "bullshit" on some of these claims of having a hobby? A hobby is something you can actually get better at. Watching TV is n

Am I the only one who wants to call "bullshit" on some of these claims of having a hobby? A hobby is something you can actually get better at. Watching TV is not a hobby. A hobby is something to which you give sustained effort. Some people claim to be into cooking and have dinner parties, but if you do that less than twice a month I don't think that counts. I realize that many of us have been ruined by modern convenience living and the programmer lifestyle, so it is an effort to get a meal for four or more together. But cooking for other people is supposed to be normal; it's not hobby material. And photography: everybody has a digital camera now. Get real. Unless you have gotten in a vehicle with equipment specifically for the purpose of photographing something and no other reason, you're not really a photographer. I hesitate to call MMOs a hobby. They do meet the definition, but the physical experience -- sitting in front of a computer , collaborating with others in virtual spaces -- is very close to the sort of work most of us do for eight or more hours a day already. I think if you garden or do bicycle couriering, you're allowed to claim that MMOs are your hobby, but otherwise no. Please understand that I'm not condemning anyone, but I think a lot of us are deluding ourselves. We don't want to admit how narrow we are, and how we really spend our leisure time. I'm willing to bet that programmed entertainments, like TV, movies, games, or pornography top the list of actual hours spent. It's sad, because at the age of 80, I don't think anyone's going to look back on their lives and say "DAMN! If only I had gotten through all my Galactica DVDs...." Maybe RescueTime should do something about this. As for me: I used to have hobbies, but now I don't. It's a serious problem and I think it contributes to an ongoing low-level depression. I do read an enormous amount, but as stated above, this is not a hobby. It's a really bad situation. I think my hobby is dreaming up startups which, for visa and other reasons, I can't do much about.

froo 18y ago
Wow, what a negative attitude - at the risk of getting modded down to hell, I figured I'd address some of your points. Please understand that while this might be a confrontational retort, it is in no way meant to be a flame. A hobby is something you can actually get better at. Watching TV is not a hobby. Actually, a hobby is defined as "an activity or interest pursued for pleasure or relaxation and not as a main occupation", so TV can be a hobby for some people. Also, people can get "better" at watching TV, by putting in more hours, watching multiple channels at once, larger screens etc... A hobby is something to which you give sustained effort. I dont believe that to be true, for example - I have one tabletop wargame on average every week, I'm a member of a club and it would take up maybe 3 hours of my total week? On the grand scale of things, its not an effort at all, yet in all sense of the word, is a hobby. And photography: everybody has a digital camera now. Get real. So? It doesn't mean that just because something is popular doesn't make it a hobby? By that reasoning, I would suggest that sport of all major forms are not hobbies, which we all know not to be the case. For the record, I don't own a camera either. Please understand that I'm not condemning anyone, but I think a lot of us are deluding ourselves. I actually think you're essentially condemning a lot of people in this thread, people are sharing parts of themselves so that others can learn a little about them, what their interests are - its an exercise in social networking of some kind. You've essentially called a lot of people liars, which is never cool.
- klein_waffle 18y ago
  No, not liars, but sometimes inattentive to this aspect of their lives? Wishful thinking? If it's just me, I'll be happy to be wrong. But the irony here is that my day job involves helping people schedule their leisure activity. I've seen research on what people actually do with their time and it's freaking dismal. After college people fall into a rut of work/sleep/TV. People say things like "dinner parties" because that's the last thing they remember doing, but if you probe a bit further, this event is usually months in the past. By "sustained effort" I wanted to distinguish a hobby from mere pass-times like television watching. I think 3 hrs/week is plenty. And tabletop wargaming is an activity that at least exercises the imagination, so I wasn't really talking about people like yourself. It could be argued that the idea of having a hobby is some outmoded bourgeois affectation, an imitation of the Victorian idle rich. So, neither do I want to impose the necessity of having a hobby on anyone else. But I do feel the lack of one in my own life.
staunch 18y ago
I'm not sure I can agree with everything you said, but I definitely agree with your general point. Most of us spend our free time with passive entertainment, not real hobbies were deeply passionate about. I think it's because real hobbies tend to be more expensive, require more time, and more effort. Mindless entertainment has the upper hand on someone who already spends a great deal if their time working hard. It's the difference between fast food and a meal cooked from scratch.

froo 18y ago

Wow, what a negative attitude - at the risk of getting modded down to hell, I figured I'd address some of your points. Please understand that while this might be a confrontational retort, it is in no way meant to be a flame. A hobby is something you can actually get better at. Watching TV is not a hobby. Actually, a hobby is defined as "an activity or interest pursued for pleasure or relaxation and not as a main occupation", so TV can be a hobby for some people. Also, people can get "better" at watching TV, by putting in more hours, watching multiple channels at once, larger screens etc... A hobby is something to which you give sustained effort. I dont believe that to be true, for example - I have one tabletop wargame on average every week, I'm a member of a club and it would take up maybe 3 hours of my total week? On the grand scale of things, its not an effort at all, yet in all sense of the word, is a hobby. And photography: everybody has a digital camera now. Get real. So? It doesn't mean that just because something is popular doesn't make it a hobby? By that reasoning, I would suggest that sport of all major forms are not hobbies, which we all know not to be the case. For the record, I don't own a camera either. Please understand that I'm not condemning anyone, but I think a lot of us are deluding ourselves. I actually think you're essentially condemning a lot of people in this thread, people are sharing parts of themselves so that others can learn a little about them, what their interests are - its an exercise in social networking of some kind. You've essentially called a lot of people liars, which is never cool.

klein_waffle 18y ago
No, not liars, but sometimes inattentive to this aspect of their lives? Wishful thinking? If it's just me, I'll be happy to be wrong. But the irony here is that my day job involves helping people schedule their leisure activity. I've seen research on what people actually do with their time and it's freaking dismal. After college people fall into a rut of work/sleep/TV. People say things like "dinner parties" because that's the last thing they remember doing, but if you probe a bit further, this event is usually months in the past. By "sustained effort" I wanted to distinguish a hobby from mere pass-times like television watching. I think 3 hrs/week is plenty. And tabletop wargaming is an activity that at least exercises the imagination, so I wasn't really talking about people like yourself. It could be argued that the idea of having a hobby is some outmoded bourgeois affectation, an imitation of the Victorian idle rich. So, neither do I want to impose the necessity of having a hobby on anyone else. But I do feel the lack of one in my own life.

staunch 18y ago

I'm not sure I can agree with everything you said, but I definitely agree with your general point. Most of us spend our free time with passive entertainment, not real hobbies were deeply passionate about. I think it's because real hobbies tend to be more expensive, require more time, and more effort. Mindless entertainment has the upper hand on someone who already spends a great deal if their time working hard. It's the difference between fast food and a meal cooked from scratch.