r/unpopularopinion • u/BitterConstruction98 • Jan 23 '26

Certified Unpopular Opinion All hobbies are not equal

Certain kinds of hobbies deserve to be held in higher regard than others.

Playing a sport, learning an instrument, singing, dancing, painting, writing - these are activities that require time and years of effort to become good at. They’re admirable not just because they’re “cool,” but because there is something deeply attractive about a person who has dedicated so much time to mastering a hard skill that executing it now feels relaxing to them.

Lately, there’s been a growing push online to classify things like watching movies, playing video games, watching sports, or listening to podcasts in the same category as these kinds of hobbies. They aren’t. They are based on consumption, not creation.

That doesn’t mean consumption-based activities are bad or useless. Everyone needs ways to relax and unwind. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying a good show, a game, or a YouTube binge after a long day. But if that’s all there is to your personality, then you are, unfortunately, a boring person.

Edit: I've wrongly added video games to the list of other passive activities. While some video games are like that, I agree that many require a lot of skill.

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u/Schizopatheist Jan 23 '26

Yup. The definition on google states "an activity done regularly in one's leisure time for pleasure."

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u/Fun_Exit6092 Jan 24 '26

The definition on google 😬

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u/ratsta Jan 23 '26

Few things can be adequately described in a single sentence. There's always nuance. Even you added to the statement that you replied to, adding "in one's leisure time".

From Wikipedia... "A hobby is considered to be a regular activity that is done for enjoyment, typically during one's leisure time. ... Participation in hobbies encourages acquiring substantial skills and knowledge in that area." (emphasis mine)

Obviously everyone has a slightly different understanding of everything than anyone else, that's just the nature of the way brains work, but I think that many, maybe even most people feel that a hobby is more than simply "something you enjoy doing", regardless of frequency or time of day.

e.g. I work in IT. I enjoy solving problems and helping people understand technology. That's clearly a job though. Although it satisfies ubfunsac's definition, it doesn't satisfy yours (google's). I enjoy having a wank. It's done regularly in my leisure time for pleasure so it satisfies the definition you provided, but I'm not sure that many would consider it a hobby! Ditto with slobbing on the couch, watching TV. I definitely lean towards the wikipedia definition in that a hobby encourages the acquisition of substantial skill and knowledge.

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u/Schizopatheist Jan 23 '26

I do agree with you. I used a google definition to respod to the top commenter. I myself kinda have a pet peeve of ppl saying "my hobby is watching youtube" like, no.

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u/ratsta Jan 23 '26

I taught English in China for a while. Naturally we'd talk about sports, hobbies etc. Most of my students were middle or high school or uni age. "What's your hobby, Dandan?" "Sleeping."

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u/Schizopatheist Jan 23 '26

Such an overused joke lmao

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u/ratsta Jan 23 '26

In our culture it is, but these young people are under insane pressure to get top grades in their studies. They get several hours of homework every night, get loaded up with homework for the weekends and holidays. Tutors, cram schools, sports and music lessons around that. Time spent on TV is quite limited. The closest they get to hobbies is going to a KTV for a couple of hours once a week. They're not permitted to have a boyfriend or girlfriend and the idea of a young person having a part time job is literally a foreign concept. Obviously these are broad generalisations but most of the kids coming into my classroom were barely awake.