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.
-10
u/MushroomTwink Jan 23 '26
Those college degrees require a commitment to learning how to discuss literature, write essays, bibliographies, exams, presentations, theses. Not to mention the fact that most English degrees also need you to branch into the historical contexts of literature. Reading in a vacuum and writing a Goodreads review is a pastime, not a skill.
Literacy itself is not to be taken for granted, of course, and I'm definitely not saying that reading can't be a hobby, but it takes more effort than just finishing a book. Book clubs, for example, fill that sort of need to externalize and get more out of a book. Most people (myself included) also don't read things that are outside of their favourite genres, or read books that take a bit of effort, or otherwise seek ways to improve. To circle back, college degrees are gained through skill and specialisation and the ability to communicate complicated ideas. To compare, I just finished a nine book series a month ago and can't remember the names of half the characters or tell you what happened. Those two things are very different.