Would you class these as hobbies?

I think to be a hobby it has to be something you have a genuine interest in, something that you like to learn about and experience for itself rather than as a byproduct of something else.

Very nicely put, imo

They can be hobbies but don't have to be. You can do an activity that someone else has as a hobby but you yourself don't. Some people call cycling a hobby, some call it a mode of transport. Watching TV isn't usually a hobby but if there's a purpose behind it such as you have an interest in analysing a certain genre then it is. Videogames are a hobby for many, but some people just idly play a game on their phone as a means of passing time.

I think to be a hobby it has to be something you have a genuine interest in, something that you like to learn about and experience for itself rather than as a byproduct of something else.

I'd say interests or pastimes too, rather than hobbies.
I can't say I've really got any hobbies as such - used to do amateur dramatics back in the day, which I would describe as a hobby.
I like cooking, so will make more elaborate meals than I actually need to, but I think making meals just part of life.
DH plays chess and I'd call that his (obviously very outing ) hobby.
The one piece of advice I got from my school before university interviews was "Don't say your hobby is reading - they expect you to read".

Edit: Should have said that I would count learning a language as a hobby and one I've considered.
I took up the piano in my 30s and counted the lessons and practice as a hobby too.

I agree with this.

Definitely count as passtimes. Perhaps a bit too everyday to count as Proper Hobbies. And "not improving enough" to count as Proper Worthwhile Hobbies - but I dont see why thats morally better than doing stuff because its fun.

Reading, watching sport, video games yes.

TV - I don't know, that feels a bit different for some reason. I wouldn't call it a hobby.

Films - depends. DH has a friend who has a cinema pass, and goes at least twice a week, for him I'd say it's a hobby. I watch films sometimes, I wouldn't class it as a hobby.

I would they are definitely hobbies.

I think when people source and find and choose classes for their kids to attend giving their kids minimal input or choice, it’s incorrect to call these hobbies. When the child wants to go to football coaching or drama classes it is a hobby.

Our older DC has joined a gym. It’s kind of a hobby but it’s partly a social thing. DC writes film reviews on Letterbox and enjoys all things film related, that’s definitely a hobby and would be regardless of enrolment in any societies or clubs.

Not to me. I watch TV and read now and then, but would not class those activities as my hobbies, rather just something that I do as part of my life.

I think a hobby should be something outside of your normal activities which adds a level of enrichment or interest to your life. Something which maybe requires learning a new skill, or perhaps being involved with some sort of hobby group, or which takes you out of day to day routine and gives you a new outlet for creativity/energy/skills etc.

Sitting on a sofa staring at the TV doesn't count. Playing football (or any sport), doing something creative like art/photography/wood work, collecting something and being interested in that thing etc are hobbies.

He had an odd view

Doesn't make him right

I think a hobby requires active, enthusiastic engagement. So putting any old shit on the TV because you want to veg out a bit is not a hobby, but catching up with a series you're a big fan of and can talk about for hours is a hobby.

"Hobby" is one of those words no one really uses in real life though. People would call literature or gaming or Sherlock fandom an interest.

Depends how intensely you do them IMO.

For example, you have a season pass to the local cinema and go weekly, subscribe to Empire/Total Film/whatever film mags still exist, seek out showings of new arthouse films, watch several films a week at home and are careful about which you choose (and like to think about them or discuss them afterwards), have a deep knowledge of some aspect of film history or filmmaking, chat online on messageboards about particular film-related topics, are deeply into a particular genre/director/school of filmmaking and watch every new film in the genre/by the director/from that school that comes out, etc. etc. then I'd say that you have a film-watching hobby.

Enjoying a recent blockbuster once in a while because you happened to see it on the front page of iPlayer, not so much.

Ask him who made him hobby police

Well your ex is nuts. Ask him to write an essay that defends his point of view with evidence from the literature, in particular linguistics.

Also I wouldn't say they're things most people do. As a busy Mum, I'm lucky if I get to shower let alone playing games. Mind you, I never quite get the adult gamer concept.

Yes, they're hobbies.

Why? The oracle that is Wikipedia says this:

"A hobby is considered to be a regular activity that is done for enjoyment, typically during one's leisure time."

So, yes, all those things are hobbies.

I'd say they're more interests than a hobby.