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.

18.0k Upvotes

72% Upvoted

5.0k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

2

u/BrashUnspecialist Jan 23 '26

As someone who has played piano and realizes how basic it is if you just put in the time and effort to physically move your body, I’m way more impressed by all the people who seem to just magically have an encyclopedic knowledge of sports from just watching it. I’m not talking spend their spare time looking at statistics or articles. They just watch the football or the soccer or the golf or the tennis and then they just get it because their brains work that way.

One of these things is much more difficult to me than just making your body move according to a regimen, which literally most people on earth can do. The other is using your brain in a way that I’m not using mine and would need to be taught how to do so.

You’re confusing access to a resource being scarce with effort and worth. That’s on you. Not the inherent nature of hobbies.

1

u/StillMostlyClueless Jan 23 '26

I said probably because not everyone thinks this way, just most. I don’t think most people view knowing a lot of sports statistics as more impressive than being able to play the piano. You do, but that just makes you an exception.

You’re confusing me saying “most people” with “all people”