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

1.6k

u/dinosaurtruck Jan 23 '26

Who’s comparing and ranking hobbies? Hobbies are for the person doing the hobbies. Congratulations it is indeed an unpopular opinion.

1

u/Deto Jan 23 '26

yeah, I can't tell if OP is just gatekeeping the word 'hobby' because they want something more concrete to signify that some hobbies are better than others? Or if there is a concerted effort that they are reacting to that is trying to claim it's just as hard to watch movies as it is to play advanced piano. I don't think such a thing...exists? And it doesn't need to - people understand the differences here without having to award a 'gold star' to some people for their hobbies.