Unattractive Hobbies

[mossylog]

There's this fake survey image that's been going around about the least attractive hobbies for men to have.

Are videogames are a red flag?
Preferable to taxidermy?

For me, gambling the worst one, as it's not a real hobby— it's something that can ruin your life.

Gambling isn't a hobby. It's an addiction.

It’s a joke..Online trolling is not a hobby

This is such a daft concept - if you’re into ornithology, a bloke who also enjoys it is a positive not a negative. Compatibility is key, not whether your prospective partner has an arbitrarily “cool” hobby.

Give me a model railway enthusiast over a football fan any day!

I worked in casinos for years, so it's probably shaped my view, but it would heavily depend on the "type" of gambler. There's plenty of customers I wouldn't have touched with a bargepole for how they spent their money, but lots who were very restrained with how they played (and a fair few who were rich enough that they didn't have to be).

I agree with the gaming, I'm afraid. Online trolling isn't a hobby it's just being a twat. Other than that, there's nothing on there I couldn't put up with, but I can't say I'd find any of them very attractive. Bird watching would probably be best, gets them out the house.

MN's kneejerk hostility to "video games" is always quite funny. It's 2024. At this point it's about as mainstream a hobby as you can think of among both men and women. I'm not a gamer myself but I have plenty of friends who are, and if you think games are only for man children that probably says more about you and your weird prejudices.

But then MN does seem to hate the entire concept of hobbies, because so many posters can't stand the idea that other people deliberately gear their lives around something other than joyless martyrdom. People without hobbies tend to be even more boring than running/chess/warcraft/whatever obsessives. Having passions is good.

The only ones listed here which would turn me off are online trolling (which I don't count as a hobby) and, to an extent, gambling (ironic as it's the only one on the list I've done myself - but if you don't know when to quit it's definitely dangerous). Magic tricks and birdwatching would be impressive and lovely. The rest is not for me personally but surely when you're in a relationship with someone, it's nice to see them taking joy in something they love (admittedly this is a sentiment I rarely see expressed on MN).

I can't believe the posters complaining about their husbands' fitness/sport hobbies either. A man who keeps himself in shape, particularly as he gets older, is extremely beneficial to me.

Yes, it's the people who don't like hobbies in general that I don't understand. What are they doing when not working or looking after the kids? Cleaning? TV? Shopping?

I'd rather be with someone who had active interests even if I don't share them. I've got too many hobbies. Learning a language, growing vegetables, attending a book club, playing boardgames and so on.