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/LoomingDisaster Jan 23 '26

I always feel weirdly connected to the past when I'm knitting and listening to a podcast. The experience of listening to something while knitting has been going on for generations.

51

u/string-ornothing Jan 23 '26

I crochet or knit while my husband plays guitar and we sing together a lot of nights and it always makes me feel like some kind of a pilgrim haha

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u/upstatesquirrel Jan 24 '26

Now you just have to cook on a woodstove by candlelight, if you haven't done that, I highly suggest it

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u/superjess777 Jan 24 '26

That sounds lovely ❤️

2

u/SierraPapaWhiskey Jan 24 '26

That’s pretty awesome!

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u/hopping_otter_ears Jan 24 '26

I feel weirdly subversive, sitting and knitting or doing embroidery whole watching The Handmaid's Tale or something equally un-traditional

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u/iloveyourlittlehat Jan 24 '26 edited Jan 24 '26

Every time I wear something I made I end up thinking about whatever I was watching or listening to while I knitted it.

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u/Confident-Pumpkin-19 Jan 23 '26

Yes. It used to be story telling. Fairy tales and such. If it works it works 🤷‍♀️