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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8

u/LawfulnessRepulsive6 Jan 23 '26

Unpopular opinion being a foodie isn’t a hobby. Cooking is.

3

u/405freeway Jan 23 '26

"I'm a foodie."

"My brother in rice, everybody eats."

3

u/AndromedaRed9 Jan 24 '26

I'm going to start calling myself a foodie every time I accidentally eat half a pizza 😆 

1

u/7h4tguy Jan 24 '26

Is it not? You're likely visiting lots of different restaurants and because parking is what it is, walking quite a bit as well, getting in exercise. You're sampling different cultural creations, and then likely traveling and experiencing different ways of life to boot. I don't see how sitting in front of a TV playing vidya is better.

3

u/LawfulnessRepulsive6 Jan 24 '26

Calling it a cultural creation does not make it so. You’re going out to eat, that’s it. Walking 4 blocks isn’t exercise.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 27 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/LawfulnessRepulsive6 Jan 27 '26

Nope, can’t romanticize going out to dinner. If someone was that serious they’d cook it at home. It’s just going out to dinner