Hobbies are important. Hobbies give us a chance to turn off the noise around us, and allow us to be in a place where we can be at peace, vulnerable, and let out who we are on the inside. We don’t have to wear masks unless we choose to wear them, we can be ourselves, content, even if it’s just for a few hours.
Collecting (action figures, comics, dolls, pop cans, etc.), fishing, hunting, model building, playing games, or traveling; there are so many hobbies or leisure activities, there’s something for everyone. Our hobbies help us connect with other, like-minded people, and form communities, which in turn can connect us to other communities and expand our social networks, providing us with common ground with people of different backgrounds and life experiences while enriching our lives.
Part of being enthusiastic about a hobby is sharing it with people, and growing the circle of people “in the know”. When I was a kid we got people involved in our hobbies by word of mouth and hanging out at the local game store or arcade, and talking to people. Now, with the proliferation of social media networks, individual voices can be amplified, which can be a good thing, but as with anything, there is a lot of bad that can come with the good.
For every blog, Facebook post, Instagram Story, or YouTube video shared¸ it seems there are always a significant number of “actually”, “yeah but”, and “what about” posts that crop up with responses criticizing “grown ass men” or “adults” that collect, enjoy, or play with “kid’s toys” or collecting and playing video games.
Posts like this have always bothered me. There is always someone that wants to shit on hobbies that don’t fit into the box of ‘being an adult”, as though the fabric of society will unravel because someone my age or older collects comics, plays Dungeons & Dragons, plays video games, or God forbid buys themselves a Lego set.
I have no doubt there is a certain measure of rage-baiting going on with posts like that, bots weighing in, and othering to boot, but I always want to ask people who make posts like these why? Why, why pick a fight over this stuff? Why do you feel anyone’s hobbies are so beneath you? Why does someone else’s joy make you so unhappy?
Hobbies and the human connections they help build are what makes life worth living. What is the point in working 40, 50, 60 or more hours per week if you can’t enjoy the fruits of your labors?
The beauty of hobbies is that not everyone has to enjoy the same hobbies as everyone else. People are free to pursue whatever leisure activities that interest them. Whenever I encounter posts or responses dumping on someone else’s hobby, I can’t help thinking about my Psychology and Sociology classes – negative attention is better than no attention at all, and the people that shitpost garner more than their fair share of negative attention when they are in turn roasted for their negativity…which, of course, leads to the inevitable escalation of insults, and tearing people down.
Are there that many miserable people out there? Why are one person’s hobbies and interests any less valid than anyone else’s? Unless an activity causes harm, or has a negative impact on the world writ large, people should pursue whatever hobby they wish. Costs aside, all hobbies serve the same purpose; personal enrichment and fulfilling a deep societal need to be a part of something larger than ourselves. An argument can be made that people can get that same feeling from going to church or participating in community functions like county fairs or parades, but hobbies also connect to us on a personal level.
Thumper from Bambi uttered the quote, “if you can’t say something nice, don’t say nothing at all!” My mother took that saying up as her own, personal credo. Being critical of how we treat people around us is one thing, critical analysis of facts or reporting is another, but being an asshole to someone because they like a certain pass time is just being an asshole to be an asshole.
We need to do better, as a society, as a species, as a planet.
Regards,
John
