What Is a Hobby?

 

January is National Hobby month.  In celebration, I am doing a multi-part series about hobbies. 

 

Origins 

The word hobby originated in England in the 16th century and at first referred to a hobbyhorse (wooden structure with an artificial head and tail to imitate a horse) commissioned as a child's toy so they could mimic riding a horse.  

Over time it was shorted to just "hobby" and came to be associated with recreation and leisure.  A hobby is also sometimes referred to as a “pastime” (pass the time). (Wikipedia - Hobby) 

 

At first hobbies were looked down on as childish pursuits, but with the industrial revolution in the 18th century and more leisure time available, they gained more respectability.  

 

Hobby Characteristics 

Today, Dictionary.com defines hobby as, "an activity or interest pursued for pleasure or relaxation and not as a main occupation."   

 

What constitutes a hobby can change over time.  In the 20th century activities like stamp collecting, embroidery, knitting, painting, woodwork, and photography were considered hobbies, but not listening to music or watching TV or reading, as those later activities lacked a sense of achievement, structure or organization (this debate is still ongoing).  

 

In the 21st century, woodwork, knitting, and stamp collecting have declined and now the video game industry has flourished as a popular hobby with children and adults. 

  

Many hobbies are solitary in nature, but some are more communal and might involve club memberships and/or sharing and communicating with other hobbyists.  Children and retired people in particular are hobby enthusiasts, as they both have more free time than working adults. 

 

Types of Hobbies 

Hobbies are diverse and difficult to categorize but below are some examples from author Robert Stebbins (Wikipedia - Hobby): 

• Collecting – seeking, locating, acquiring, organizing, cataloging, displaying and storing (e.g. coins, stamps, bird-watching) 
• Making and Tinkering – self-motivated projects that can be long term (e.g. car restoration, building a computer, scale-modeling, dressmaking, cooking) 
• Activity Participation – includes partaking in non-competitive, sometimes rule-based pursuits (e.g. gardening, hiking, cycling, canoeing, fishing, hunting, wildlife viewing, water-sports) 
• Liberal Arts Pursuits – performances (e.g. singing, playing musical instrument), result in end product (e.g. photography, movie making, jewelry making, reading, writing) 
• Sports and Games – less formal sports or games that are rule bound and have no professional equivalent 

Hobby vs. Interest 

A hobby is an activity you do in your free time that gives you pleasure and relaxes you. An interest is a desire or need to learn more about a specific subject. Hobbies are activities, interests are feelings.  Hobbies are consistent, interests depend on your mood and attention span.  If you actively pursue an interest in can become a hobby. (5 Key Differences Between Hobbies and Interests)   

 

Hobby vs. Passion 

A passion is an interest or goal or activity that an individual invests time and effort into in order to grow personally or professionally.  Usually, at any given moment, someone has multiple hobbies, but only one or two passions.  Sometimes hobbies can become passions and passions can become hobbies. (The Major Difference Between Hobbies and Passions)  

 

It's a hobby if –  

• You only think about it while you are doing it 
• You are relaxed when you do it   
• You don't feel strongly about it 
• You do it when you are bored, to fill time or relax or have fun 
• It helps you de-stress 

It's a passion if –  

• You think about it all the time 
• It is hard and stressful rather than relaxes you, but the reward is worth it 
• You take it seriously and are always intense about it 
• You get excited when you talk about it, and want to share it with others 
• You want to do it all the time, even when you don't have free time 
• You can't do without it 
• It is fulfilling 

Personal Hobbies/Passions 

In the past, travel was a passion of mine.  I was always thinking about where I was going to go, and what I was going to do when I got there.  I would plan out detailed trips, years in advance, that I might never take.   

 

Now, writing is my passion.  I have always been interested in writing in some form or another.  It started with diaries, then letter writing (later email), term papers, a newsletter at work, and now a blog.   

 

Reading and watching movies/TV are lifelong hobbies of mine, but they can turn into a passion, even an obsession, for a while, if I find a book or movie I really like and want to learn all about it.  I'm partial to series with recurring characters I can identify with.  For a brief time those characters are more real to me than even my own family and friends.  Inevitably though, the fever breaks and I move on. 

 

Why do we lose interest in hobbies?  How do we find new hobbies?  For answers to these and other questions, check out the next article, How Do I Find a New Hobby?.