What do you consider a hobby?

In My Humble Opinion
1

I have noticed that not all extracurricular activities are considered hobbies. Like, if you do a lot of reading of mystery novels in your spare time, you can talk about that as a hobby around most people without rising any eyebrows. But if you say you watch a lot of reality TV in your spare time, I dunno. I don’t think most people (including me) consider TV-watching to be a real hobby.

But why? This is just snobbery, right?

One of my favorite past times is taking long walks around town. Over the past few weeks, I have supplemented my foot travel with electric scootering. I get totally different yet wonderful experiences from these two activities. But for some reason, I don’t feel as eager to claim “riding my scooter” as a hobby as I do “talking long walks.” I don’t know why I feel like this, but I do.

So what do you consider a hobby? And what activities would you not consider to be a real hobby, however you want to define “real”?

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2

I definitely consider reading books to be one of my hobbies. I watch TV too, but it doesn’t seem as hobby-ish as reading (or more active things). Maybe there’s a level of passivity at which something ceases to be a hobby?

3

A hobby is something you do because you really enjoy it but make no money doing it.

4

For me a hobby involves something material, that you do or collect/arrange, specially if it involves crafting; things like watching TV, reading books or taking walks are better described as pastimes. Basically, if you have something to show for it afterwards it’s a hobby.

5

Really? I used to breed cockatiels and hand-feed their offspring as a hobby. I couldn’t keep all the offspring, so I sold most of them. So my hobby wasn’t a hobby?

6

By this definition, playing sports and board games aren’t hobbies because they don’t lead to the production or collection of anything material. And something like birdwatching would also be excluded.

If you asked someone what their hobbies are and they replied they are really into kayaking and birdwatching, would you accept these responses? Or would you feel like they missed the mark somehow?

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7

I’d call it a hobby, assuming you did it for enjoyment, and the money was just an ancillary thing.

8

I consider it a hobby when I watch TV, but I actually put a little effort into it - I buy whole seasons on DVD, schedule time, and watch them with as few distractions as possible. I think that a lot of the “TV isn’t a hobby” stuff comes from the fact that many people only “watch TV” with a fraction of their attention - they have it on while they’re cooking, they happily turn it off in the middle of shows, they fall asleep to it. It’s clearly not something they’re devoting their time to - and I think something doesn’t become a hobby until you are deliberately spending your time on it. Until that’s happening, it’s just something you happen to be pointing your head at - a pastime, not a hobby.

Listening to music is similar - you can make a hobby out of enjoying music, but for most people it’s just background noise so it doesn’t seem like a hobbyist “thing”.

Honestly, the best way to “legitimize” a hobby is to collect it - to have physical evidence that it’s something you’re doing. I collect a couple of different types of toys, and collecting makes it a hobby; merely playing with toys is a pastime.

9

I guess I’d define a hobby as something you want to do, but don’t need to do. I realize that’s pretty broad, but I would include any pastime that you concentrate and learn about. Whether that’s binge watching Netflix shows, or Youtube documentaries, or collecting stamps. I’d include some time and effort spent as well. If I peruse a magazine in the Drs office, it’s not a hobby. If I collect and read a year’s worth of National Geographic it’s a hobby (or at least could be).

I disagree with Jasmine, in that you can make money from a hobby – but if you doing it to pay the rent I don’t think it’s a hobby anymore.

On edit: Ninja’d by begbert, as regards TV watching.

10

Things that can be done professionally or for profit being done simply for pleasure. I wouldn’t consider flyfishing, for me, to be much of a hobby; I did it professionally for too long. I would say the same for racing. But blacksmithing? Reading? Home repairs? those – easily are hobbies for me.

11

It doesn’t have anything to do with the activity itself–at least traditionally.

All “hobbies” are pastimes, but about 100 years ago, the middle class in the U.S. started increasingly to use the term hobby as a way, to call attention to their class status, when referring to their pastimes. The idea was that a person with a “hobby” clearly doesn’t have to toil away 80 hours a week. (Before that, the word was mostly tied to the term hobby-horse, another term for rocking horse.)

That specific connotation has mostly faded, and but it lingers somewhat in that often we use the term to imply that a pastime somehow is more significant if we call it a hobby. The corollary is that many pastimes generate industries of sales of often superfluous accessories. The idea is that if you buy these accessories, your pastime is more “serious,” and may assume the status of “hobby.” By the same token, if you’re buying supplies and using special tools, your pastime must be more serious, (and perhaps that leads to the assertion above that you have to produce something to have a hobby).

I realize this is a generalization, and doesn’t apply to everyone, but I think it’s mostly true.

12

For me, hobbies involve spending money on stuff and using skills, but enjoying it enough that there is never a drudgery of having to do it.

For that reason, playing an instrument does not qualify in my mind–it absolutely is a great way to spend lots of money, and is a skilled thing, but I don’t know how many musicians look at practicing their instrument as being relaxing and joyful–it’s more like work.

My machine shop, on the other hand, brings me great joy. I have four different small steam engine builds in flight right now, and I love being able to walk over to the blueprints on the wall and say “Hmmmm… I think I’ll make this part today, it looks like fun lathe work. Let me find a chunk of brass.”

13

guizot, your post was interesting!

I have noticed that young people make a big deal over hobbies and I think that social media is behind this. It is important nowadays that you have cool things to showcase on your Insta or Facebook page. So it is not enough to be a book-lover, because that is not conducive for a slide show reel. But cosplaying your favorite fictional characters is. You aren’t really a serious crafter unless you have a blog and an Etsy store. You aren’t really into art unless you on DeviantArt. So if you don’t have these forms of proof, you don’t have a hobby and thus that means you must sit around watching reality TV all day.

Hell, I am not young and even I have fallen into this thinking. I see many beautiful and crazy things when I am riding around town. The other day I thought to myself, “Maybe I can write a blog!” But then I thought about it and realized that wouldn’t be fun at all. It would be a chore, trying to come up with ideas all the time and doing all the editing. Why do I have to validate the worthiness of my hobby by talking about it? Why can’t I just enjoy it just for myself? My work life is competitive enough. I don’t need to be like that in my spare time.
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14

“Validate the worthiness of my hobby?” When I call my various pastimes hobbies I usually tag on the comment that the entire lot of them are completely unproductive wastes of time. They’re stuff I do for fun, and I do them pretty seriously (so to speak) but at no point do I imagine anybody will think they’re admirable.

15

I guess hobby can be defined broadly to enjoy just about anything done outside of your vocation. Personally, there is some level of passivity or inactivity below which I would hesitate to call something a hobby. If I like to nap in my hammock on the weekend, is that a hobby? I might consider watching TV, or reading as closer to that end of the continuum, than more active activities.

But no clear line. And I don’t care whether someone calls something a hobby, pastime, leisure activity, or something else.

16

Having change in your pocket doesn’t make you a coin collecter. Listening to music doesn’t make it a hobby. But, maybe music is a hobby for me. I have music books, have my “collections” (organized playlists), music spreadsheets and play music trivia games and do okay in them. And it would only be a hobby. There are levels above me, which would go beyond being a hobby.

17

There are lots of amateur musicians who play music (or sing) as a hobby. Amateur bands, folk music groups, choruses, a capella groups, etc. They perform at community events, art festivals, music competitions, events, etc. Some get paid to play, but often it’s just to pay for the expenses. I myself used to be a member of a barbershop chorus & quartet and sang at many events, and I did enjoy practicing.

I do think a “hobby” needs to be an activity, and not just passive entertainment. Watching TV isn’t a hobby.

18

I follow the Iditarod, and moderate a forum dedicated to it.

I used to raise fish and was very good at it…I also raise house plant. Fish poop is good fertilizer!

I LOVE photography and am pretty good at getting some pretty great snapshots.

Good food makes me weep in joy. And I cook/chef very well.

I collect interesting stuff.

All of these are/were hobbies for me.

I manage restaurants. That is what I do to afford my hobbies.

tsfr

19

I’d go with this. I think a hobby is something you do. Watching TV is a recreation but it’s not a hobby because it’s something that you do passively.

20

What do I do, and which of these activities do I think of as a hobby?

Cycling (I do a lot of that): Nope. That’s exercise, fun and transport.

Watching TV (not much): Nope - pastime.

Cooking: Nope, that’s just practical.

Reading French local newspapers (I do quite a lot of that): Nope, that’s educational (language).

Travel: I don’t think so - but let me think about that.

Growing vegetables: Yep.

Now I have the issue of why I think growing vegetables is a hobby where none of the others are. Weeelll - I spend an awful lot of time on this, and in the main it would be cheaper just to go to the store and buy them. There’s an element of challenge to it. There’s skill too (not so much, I’m afraid) and there’s certainly commitment. It’s done for a purpose/output (food).

I think if I cycled for the purpose of racing, that would be a hobby.

I think if I cooked for the purpose of developing expertise and repertoire, that would be a hobby.

I think education eliminates itself (my opinion).

Just watching TV can never be a hobby.

I’m still thinking about travel.

So yeah - commitment, expertise, challenge and a concrete activity with something to show for it. Those are my defining characteristics for a hobby.

I think I’ll probably regret expressing this opinion.:wink:

j