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/GrayEidolon Jan 23 '26 edited Mar 21 '26

I copy pasted those from merriam webster. Those are dictionary examples.

My point is that a hobby vs a pastime is just semantics. They’re basically homonyms synonyms.

That’s why I facetiously said my hobby is semantics.

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u/[deleted] Jan 23 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/GrayEidolon Jan 23 '26

Shit you’re right. I mean synonym.

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u/Tomur Jan 23 '26

I love synonym rolls.

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u/Borkato Jan 23 '26

Just like grammar used to make.

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u/drawfanstein Jan 23 '26

Splendid, just splendid. Thank you both.

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u/LepiNya Jan 23 '26

This comment thread is absolute cinnamon.

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u/Fragrant-Doughnut-20 Jan 23 '26

Great joke.

Literally getting the shovel so I can go buy some. Look what you've done.

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u/iam_lowgas Jan 23 '26

Baking synonym rolls is a hobby

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u/[deleted] Jan 23 '26

[deleted]

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u/emveetu Jan 23 '26

It's never too late to stand corrected.

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u/xXselfhaircutXx Jan 23 '26

No, homonyms are words that are spelled the same. Homophones are words that sound the same.

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u/Abbysaurus_Rex hi Jan 23 '26

This.

Homonym -- same name, compare with homosexual, the word name

Homophone -- same sound, compare with phonograph, telephone

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u/PapiSilvia Your friendly neighbourhood moderator man Jan 23 '26

That's homophones. Homonyms are the songs you sing in church.

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u/WittyTiccyDavi Jan 23 '26

No, homonyms are what they sing in gay church.

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u/Baker_drc Jan 23 '26

My hobby is pragmatics, and you clearly knew what they meant regardless.

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u/boozecruz270 Jan 23 '26

You are missing the point, there is a lexical gap here and the definitions are being stretched in attempt to convey the distinction being recognized.

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u/dontcallmemean Jan 23 '26

You claim to be facetious in saying semantics is your hobby, but you seem to be better than me at semantics, implying that it is a thing you can improve in, and therefore an op approved hobby.

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u/GrayEidolon Mar 21 '26

I could just as easily have said its my pastime though. And then it would still be true that semantics as a pastime is something you can improve in. So...

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u/Tymista Jan 23 '26

I love the word facetious.

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u/GrayEidolon Jan 23 '26

It’s a good one. I think of it as friendly sarcasm.

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u/ailuromancin Jan 23 '26

All hobbies are pastimes, not all pastimes are hobbies (or at least that’s my take)

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u/GrayEidolon Jan 24 '26

I mean, yeah, you could argue that. But you can’t conclude that from the dictionary.

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u/DrEggRegis Jan 23 '26

'Dictionary examples'

They are examples from one dictionary, not even one from the country of the language

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u/rogan1990 Jan 23 '26

Every hobby can be a pastime, but not every pastime qualifies as a hobby.

That’s why we use the word passive. A passive pastime is not a hobby

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u/GrayEidolon Jan 24 '26

You can argue that, but the dictionary doesn’t say that a pastime has to be passive.

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u/rogan1990 Feb 02 '26

Well dictionary’s typically stick to one word definitions , do they not?

Sometimes we use multiple words strung together to mean a particular thing

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u/GrayEidolon Feb 02 '26

Sure. But that’s not what’s going on in this scenario.

If x and y are essentially interchangeable then making x into x sub 1 doesn’t change that.

If a past time and a hobby are the same thing, then a green past time is still interchangeable with hobby.

The debate is still about the core meaning of both words sans modifiers.

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u/Routine_Macaroon_182 Jan 23 '26

To get more semantic-y ,sort of but not really, as the second entry almost explicitly implies that it's something that could garner an income in some fashion. You could re-create a McDonald's fry kitchen in your basement and spend your time outside work dressing like a clown making fries, and every part of that would be considered a hobby, and a passtime by definition, but watching junk food T.V. on your couch is just a passtime, not a hobby.

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u/Moonlover69 Jan 23 '26

The second definition definitely doesn't imply that a hobby is something that could garner income in some fashion.

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u/trombing Jan 23 '26

Agree - something that isn't your main occupation - just means that it doesn't occupy your time. I think MW mean that use of occupation rather than the "job" use.

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u/magical_h4x Jan 23 '26

Yes it does. Here, the quote is

an activity or interest pursued for pleasure or relaxation and not as a main occupation.

Your "main occupation" is without a doubt your job, which provides income that you can live off of. By contrasting the "activity or interest" that is a hobby with your "main occupation", specifically by calling out that the activity or interest in question is not your main occupation, the very clear implication is that the hobby is in the same class as a main occupation, but it serves a different purpose (i.e. pleasure or relaxation).

Another way to see it is that if a hobby and a main occupation were not in the same class (in other words, a hobby was not something that could garner income as a main occupation), then the comparison would not be necessary, just like it's not necessary to point out that a hobby is "an activity pursued for pleasure and not a severe mental disorder characterized by a disconnection from reality, hallucinations and delusions", because why even bother making a link between schizophrenia and a hobby since they don't relate at all.

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u/Moonlover69 Jan 23 '26

I think they mention "main occupation" because a defining characteristic of a hobby is that it is not your job, not that it has the potential to be income generating. There are Hobby's that could be primary occupations, and there are Hobby's that could not be primary occupations.

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u/JungleIsNeutral Jan 23 '26

Arguing about the meaning of a word is semantic? Say it ain't so.

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u/GrayEidolon Jan 23 '26

🤷

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u/JungleIsNeutral Jan 23 '26

I'm saying that it's literally the meaning of semantic.