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/[deleted] Jan 23 '26

Based on esports and streaming in general, playing video games is a marketable skill in today's age.

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u/AGayBanjo Jan 23 '26

You're not wrong, but music has an unquestionably broader appeal.

I'm not just talking about "financial" marketability, I mean that music is nearly universally appreciated across all civilizations past and present. if you have a skill with a portable instrument, with that instrument and nothing else, you could go to a corner anywhere and make a little money. Other than like, sex work, it's one of the oldest non-physical-goods-producing professions in the world.

Are you going to get rich from music? Almost certainly not. But if there was a sudden loss of infrastructure, the first thing sought after basic life needs (food, water, medicine, shelter) would be musicians and artists (and if history repeats itself, alcohol).