Definition of

Hobby

Portrait

Photography can be a hobby.

A hobby is an activity that a person frequently does when they have free time for the purpose of entertainment. It is, therefore, a hobby . For example: "Aeromodelling is my hobby, it helps me disconnect," "My mother spends a lot of time growing bonsai, which is her hobby," "My hobbies are reading, watching television and cooking."

A hobby, then, is a hobby . Whoever carries out the activity in question does it for pleasure , since it generates pleasure or provides fun . It is not a forced or forced action.

From hobby to profession or trade

Individuals who engage in a hobby are amateurs ; On the other hand, if the activity becomes a trade or a profession, the subjects become professionals. The same activity can be a hobby or a profession depending on its characteristics.

Let's take the case of a man who, in his leisure time, enjoys making wooden furniture with his own hands. Then he gives his creations to his family and friends. Making furniture, for him, is a hobby. However, those who dedicate themselves to the same task for eight hours a day with the aim of selling furniture do not have carpentry as a hobby, but as a job or livelihood.

DIY , collecting , gardening , modeling , cooking , music and sports are some of the most popular hobbies. Each of these disciplines, of course, can be more than just a hobby, although it depends on each individual.

Brewing

There are people who started brewing craft beer as a hobby and then created a productive enterprise.

Shape difference

As mentioned above, it is difficult to distinguish between a hobby and a trade, since the difference does not lie in the activity itself but in the way in which each individual treats it. This does not mean, on the other hand, that we can precisely measure a person's dedication to determine which group each of their daily activities belongs to, since their own opinion and feelings in this regard also come into play.

For example, while someone may say that "for Daniel, singing is a hobby," perhaps he believes that singing is his passion and that he has dedicated himself for several years to perfecting his technique. What is the truth, therefore? Given that each person perceives reality with their own eyes, through their own experiences and with different resources to interpret them, we can resolve that both points of view are true, since they emerge from different analyzes of the same fact.

In this context, an expression that is very often used to judge the degree of dedication to an activity comes into play: "taking it seriously ." Returning to the example from the previous paragraph, it is evident that, to the observer, Daniel does not take singing very seriously, although Daniel himself does not think the same. Needless to say, this assessment is too strong: how can we know with certainty the relationship that others have with their activities or the feelings that they awaken in them? Many times, we are not even able to understand our own feelings about our interests, so our judgments about others are likely to be inaccurate.

Guitar

Playing a musical instrument, enjoying movie or series marathons, and playing video games are popular hobbies.

Time spent on a hobby

One of the key factors to distinguish a hobby from a passion is the time we dedicate to each one. Sometimes we don't have enough time to do what we like most, either because our obligations consume a large part of the day or because they leave us without energy.

A situation like this can explain why an individual claims to be passionate about what to others may simply seem like a hobby.

Variety of activities

A wide variety of activities can be considered a hobby. Philately (stamp collecting) and numismatics (coin collecting) are hobbies, as are climbing , painting , origami , bird watching and chess .

As we already indicated, whether these disciplines or proposals are actually defined as a hobby depends on several factors. An artist who sells paintings for thousands of dollars is a professional and does not paint as a hobby. Either way, you probably choose to paint in your free time .

Even a science can be taken as a hobby. Amateur astronomy captivates many people who enjoy observing stars and planets and acquiring knowledge, even when they have no intention of pursuing higher education at a university.

If we focus on treasure hunting with a metal detector , for some this practice can be fun. A man can buy a device to walk the beach with his son as a way to share moments together, to mention one case. Another individual, on the other hand, looks for metals and then sells them to get the money he needs to survive. That reality reveals that it is not a hobby for him.