Would you class these as hobbies?

[Paulatreides]

Watching TV/films, watching the football, reading, playing games on the PS5, etc.
Not sure if they're classed as hobbies as such or just things that most people do?

[Dinoswearunderpants]

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

[FireworksAndSparklers]

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.

[MeMyCatsAndMyBooks]

Yes, they're hobbies.

[Dinoswearunderpants]

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.

[Paulatreides]

Good to know, thanks :) just that my ex had very particular ideas of what hobbies were and weren't. Like I study languages online, but he said it wasn't really a hobby because I didn't go to in-person classes :/

[FireworksAndSparklers]

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.

[EineReiseDurchDieZeit]

Ask him who made him hobby police

[TheCoffeeNebula]

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.

[gannett]

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.

[WandaWonder]

@Paulatreides

Good to know, thanks :) just that my ex had very particular ideas of what hobbies were and weren't. Like I study languages online, but he said it wasn't really a hobby because I didn't go to in-person classes :/

Doesn't make him right

[totallybonkerswarning]

@Paulatreides

Good to know, thanks :) just that my ex had very particular ideas of what hobbies were and weren't. Like I study languages online, but he said it wasn't really a hobby because I didn't go to in-person classes :/

He had an odd view

[Goneforaride]

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.

[Librarybooker]

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.

[TTPD]

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.

[Saz12]

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.

[Yearendjoy]

@Goneforaride

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.

I agree with this.

[LaMarschallin]

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.

[Dotjones]

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.

[LaMarschallin]

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

[WhereIsMyLight]

Watching TV I wouldn’t count as a hobby because I think most people just put something on.

Watching football is because only people interested in football will watch it and they will actively watch that, rather than have it on as background noise.

I go to the cinema about once a year, so it’s not a hobby for me. For many people it is though.

It’s not the act of leaving the house or spending money on it (although hobbies do have a habit of being expensive), it’s the intention by which you go about that activity. If it’s just to kill time - not a hobby but if your intentions are deliberate to engage in that activity as something you enjoy then it’s a hobby. Reading an old paper in the dentist’s office because it’s there, not a hobby just a way of killing time. Spending time picking an author that you think you might like, reading blurbs and reviews, buying or going to the library, deliberately setting time to read the book, deliberately following the author for when a new book comes out, that’s a hobby.

[KreedKafer]

I'd call those hobbies, yes. They're specific activities that you choose to do in your spare time. Does it matter what they're called, though? An interest in film or gaming or reading is no less valid than sitting there doing cross-stitch or something.

[yellowsmileyface]

@TheCoffeeNebula

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.

Edited

I agree with this. I'd say there has to be an element of active engagement for something to class as a hobby.

I have a membership to a local independent cinema which I go to regularly, so I do consider films to be a hobby of mine as it's something I actively go out and do. Passively watching Netflix isn't really a hobby, but I think film and TV can absolutely be a hobby for some people.

Not sure if they're classed as hobbies as such or just things that most people do?

I don't think these two things are mutually exclusive. For example, most people cook. But for some people, cooking is a specific hobby, if it's something they dedicate time to, learning new recipes and refining their skills, rather than simply making food because they have to eat.

[TheCadoganArms]

To me, there are leisure pursuits and hobbies, and while they will both overlap on the Venn diagram they are slightly different. The latter involves at least learning and becoming proficient in some specific skill set or body of knowledge (restoring furniture, Tudor history, cooking, speaking a language etc) whereas things like gaming, watching TV or participating in sports would be leisure pursuits.

[JaninaDuszejko]

In Crooked Heart by Lissa Evans the wonderful Mattie says 'Hobbies are for people who don't read books'.

What about exercise? My DD1 plays in a football team so I think that counts as a hobby but for some reason I don't really think me swimming every morning is because I just do lengths, I'm not part of a club which is daft really because I'm there more often than the folk in the Masters swimming club.

[Loopsielou]

I wouldn't say tv watching is a hobby.