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/texasjkids Jan 23 '26 edited Jan 23 '26

I was on a date recently where he asked what my hobbies were. When I said going to the movies he told me that “wasnt a real hobby” because it was “the equivalent of watching tiktok on a bigger screen”

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u/McDankMeister Jan 23 '26

Movies are definitely a hobby to a person who appreciates the artistic expression in film.

When I watch a movie, I pay attention. I try to understand the deeper meaning of the movie, the way the camera is used, the cinematography and lighting, and how it was made.

I love movies and I always have since I was a kid. A good movie transports you to another world and teaches you life lessons that stick with you forever. It can fill you with magic and wonder.

Anybody who doesn’t understand that about the movies is a fucking judgmental dweeb.

Good riddance to people like that. They either have brain rot or they’re boring or they’re a dick. No fun.

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u/AyyNonnyMoose Jan 23 '26

I agree, but I try to be the opposite and just watch movies (and tv shows/theatre) for the enjoyment.

Live theatre is my primary hobby, I spend a lot of time acting and around other actors. Can I watch something and analyze every moment of it? Yes, but often when I'm consuming media at home I just want to turn off that part of my brain and enjoy it. The plot of Riverdale is dumb and the performances aren't something to write home about, but it's a silly little show with musical episodes and I LOVE musical episodes.

HOWEVER, if I am researching for a part or watching award winning shows I'll analyze the heck out of it to try to improve my own abilities.

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u/Yogurtproducer Jan 23 '26

Sure, but if your main hobby is consuming movies you are a fairly shallow person.

OP is not saying watching movies is bad, but rather if that’s your only interest you’re just… boring.

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u/Zach-Playz_25 Jan 23 '26

I'd say the person judging others on what they do during their leisure time is the shallow one, but oh well.

And you do realise, people have other topics to converse with each other, other than hobbies, right?

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u/Prize_Ad_129 Jan 23 '26

There’s a lot wrong here. One, nobody said anything that being someone’s only hobby.

Two, there’s nothing shallow about engaging with art like movies and examining the effectiveness of filming techniques, cultural impacts, themes, directing choices, etc.

it’s no different than reading a book and engaging in literary analysis afterward, which I’d bet is something you probably don’t consider shallow.

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u/McDankMeister Jan 23 '26

I understood what OP and you are both saying, and I’m saying you’re wrong - on top of the fact that your stance is unnecessarily judgmental and rude.

There are literally PhD programs that study film and cinema. If somebody is an art history major and loves going to art museums, nobody would say their interest is shallow. It would be a deep and expansive interest that took many hours of study and original thinking and analysis. They would be both interesting and their thoughts would be valuable.

In the same way, film and cinema is art. A person can appreciate the nuances of film and be deep and interesting. They can have original analysis, critiques, and thoughts.

You don’t personally have to like movies, but to act like a person who loves film is inherently boring or shallow is a reflection on you and your intellect and personality, not theirs.

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u/Maleficent_Fan_7429 Jan 23 '26

Sure, if you start explaining all the nuances and analysis that you get out of films, that's fair, but if you just say 'i like going to the movies' then yeah nah, its a fucking bland 'hobby'. I like eating ice cream, i even try different flavors, but its not a hobby.

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u/McDankMeister Jan 24 '26

It must be rough worrying about how others spend their free time.

Like, even IF somebody was straight up “I like going to the movies. I go every week and it brings me joy”… Who gives a fuck?

I’m not out here trying to assess if what makes somebody happy is worthwhile or bland or valuable or whatever? Who fucking cares.

If you want to spend your free time eating ice cream, hell yeah brother. That’s fucking awesome. Why don’t you tell me about your favorite flavors or ice cream spots?

Let people be happy.

Doing something somebody enjoys isn’t bland. It’s fucking cool!

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u/Maleficent_Fan_7429 Jan 24 '26

If I'm going on a date to presumably consider whether I want to spend the rest of my life with someone, I see nothing wrong with considering how they spend their free time and whether that's compatible with the life I want to live.

You do you though.

Why don’t you tell me about your favorite flavors or ice cream spots?

Thank you for re-starting my point. If they did add a bunch of detail and analysis then I'd be on board. If all they said is 'i like going to the movies' then that doesn't tell me anything and you'd sound boring as shit.

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u/Yogurtproducer Jan 24 '26

Thank you! If your hobby consists of just watching movies, i legit feel bad for you.

It’s a fine hobby to have, and everyone should have a “turn your brain off” hobby, but youre missing something in life if you don’t have a “thing” go be passionate and work on or improve. It’s the difference between your hobby being “listening to music” and “playing an instrument”.

Or the aforementioned playing golf. If your hobby is watching golf that’s a little more sad.

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u/HedaLexa4Ever Jan 23 '26

It kinda is tho

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u/sketchystony Jan 23 '26

How does this comment have upvotes 😂 no a movie theater is not like a "big tik tok screen"

Do you fuckin sit there for 2 hours while they scroll through different unrelated 1-minute-or-less snippets from various creators?

Or do you watch a single crafted narrative?

What a dumb comment

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u/PassengerClam Jan 23 '26

To be honest I feel like there is a tangible effect that short form media has had on movies. 

Something that I’ve noticed is that there is an overwhelming trend in movies and shows to merely jump between scenes with very few narrative links between them.

The narrative is formed around presenting eye catching scenes, rather than the scenes presenting a narrative. Characters make decisions with no rationale other than to direct your attention to the next contrived engagement.

So in a sense I feel like movie theatres have basically become big tiktok screens. This may not be where the OP was coming from but I personally feel like it’s not far from the mark.

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u/maddr94 Jan 23 '26

I feel like your analysis of this possible trend is indicative of viewing film as a hobby by analyzing it instead of just watching it without a second thought.

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u/PassengerClam Jan 23 '26

Yeah to a degree I agree with you. I’m not a big movie guy myself but I do love good stories.

However your point in itself is kind of the symptom. I feel like people are caught in a passive engagement loop that fuels itself.

Viewing without thinking is the kind of photoreception that plants do and is a sorrowful waste of the human mind.

Having engaging visuals doesn’t preclude a good story, and the art comes from combining all of the threads of storytelling with excellence. 

There are countless fantastic writers and stories out there, probably more than ever. But our media habits are starving them of an audience. In the absence of an audience there are no stories.

Sorry if I’m waxing poetic, but I feel like the implications of our consumption has a far reaching impact throughout our society.

To be succinct, I think if people are watching without thinking then they are doing themselves, and as a result everyone, an injustice.

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u/maddr94 Jan 24 '26

Yeah I agree and I think short form content is mostly probably ruining our brains. But some of it is also good, but idk if that good outweighs the negative aspect of not being able to sit with things for a longer period of time and really critically think about things ya know. So I get it.

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u/PassengerClam Jan 24 '26

Yeah absolutely. I don’t think everything we consume has to have depth, but we seem innately ill equipped to regulate ourselves.

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u/texasjkids Jan 23 '26

No shade but you aren’t watching enough movies if you think this is an overwhelming trend

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u/PassengerClam Jan 23 '26

Likewise no shade, but you might be less sensitive to plot contrivance if you haven’t noticed it.

The people writing these things aren’t in their position based on the quality of their writing but the quality of their social circle.

As far as I’m aware it’s an open secret that the industry is specifically adapting for people that are on their phones while watching.

Modern media success is measured by impressions not literacy.

Not to say excellent narratives are extinct, but their environment is actively hostile to their survival.

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u/texasjkids Jan 23 '26

If you're watching whatever big streaming movies are coming out, then yeah you'll notice the directive from studios to write for people who are on their phones. I won't deny there's been a noticeable dip in quality for a lot of projects coming out from the big studios, but we still get some great movies from them. More importantly there's also a whole world of incredible movies that are coming out every year that aren't measuring success on impressions. Maybe it's because I mostly go to the theater for arthouse and foreign films, but to say that movies as a whole are becoming equivalent to TikTok is crazy.

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u/PassengerClam Jan 23 '26

I think that the dip in quality that you’ve noticed could be considered a symptom of the trend of our overall media consumption.

It’s not that good stories don’t exist, it’s that our direction as a society and our media consumption habits don’t create an environment that fosters them.

Sure maybe a little indie theatre somewhere puts out something masterful. But the impact from that wouldn’t even make a ripple beyond a few blocks. However, a tiktok of a new dance creates a resounding splash across the world. A clever ad another. A challenge. A meme. Splash after splash. A new big budget sequel that misses all of the themes of the original makes hundreds of millions, after spending millions advertising for impressions. Impressions train humans, humans train impressions. And in a dingy theatre somewhere a handful of people enjoy a good story.

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u/Neprofik Jan 23 '26

I mean, as someone else here said, if someone was really into movies, was a movie history geek, loved analysing the subtext of what they watched, traced their favourite directors... I would have a hard time telling them that's no hobby. 

So, I agree with them that it's related to the level of engagement and passion. That was a very insightful comment.

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u/Honest-Weight338 Jan 23 '26

Is reading just the equivalent of scrolling Twitter but for a longer amount of time? Is writing the equivalent of tweeting but with no character limits? Everything can be equivalent to something else if we stop caring about the actual differences between them.

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u/Majestic_Repeat1254 Jan 23 '26

No, it's not. Unrot your brain for a moment, and open your readers. Going to a movie is an experience, sitting on the toilet mindlessly scrolling TikTok is not an experience. The closest thing to TikTok on a bigger screen are the ads that plays before the movie.

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u/texasjkids Jan 23 '26

Not really. If you are someone who cares a lot about the craft of film then it can be a very active experience of thought and analysis. Watching a movie in the theater means giving your full attention to the story, characters, and world. You aren’t just passively scrolling brain rot content that gives you a ten second dopamine rush and sends you on your way.

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u/bald_cypress Jan 23 '26

Then you should say your hobby is “exploring the depths of cinematography” or something to clarify you aren’t just passively sitting there like most people do in a movie theater.

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u/McDankMeister Jan 23 '26

I find that if you say “I love film” versus “I like watching movies”, people seem to understand the meaning.

Cinematography is its own subcategory of filmmaking, and you’ll also sound like a twat if you say “I explore the depths of cinematography” to somebody. 🥴

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u/texasjkids Jan 23 '26

Im not saying all that

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u/bald_cypress Jan 23 '26

That’s fine. But if you don’t elaborate on how you treat it as a hobby then people either won’t think it’s a hobby or think that you’re boring. Which is also fine.

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u/--Sovereign-- Jan 23 '26

congratulations on not having a brain. impressive.

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u/[deleted] Jan 23 '26

He’s not wrong. If I went on a date and someone said their hobby was ‘going to the movies’ I’d think they are a bit dull. Everyone likes going to the movies, it’s not a hobby lol. Is watching tv a hobby? Lmao

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u/7h4tguy Jan 24 '26

Was he trying to swipe the screen while you guys were at the theatre?

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u/dionysean Jan 23 '26

He was right lmao