Saturday, June 3, 2023 | 2 a.m. | Saturday, June 3, 2023 | 2 a.m.
Hobbies. We’re asked about them during small talk and sometimes when we apply for jobs or volunteer positions. If we don’t have one, we feel like we should. If we do have one, it usually suffers from neglect.
So what makes something a hobby?
The dictionary definition is “a pursuit outside one’s regular occupation,” an activity one engages in for relaxation. I’ll add that hobbies always take time and almost always require money. Further — some are not relaxing, but that doesn’t mean we don’t enjoy them or benefit from them.
Many people have neither the time nor the money to even think about having a hobby. So, these pursuits are suitable for only a portion of the populace, but many businesses depend on these people.
A January statista.com report showed the top two hobbies in 2022 were, in order, cooking/baking and reading. As one who loves to eat, I like food creation, but as a writer, I’m thankful that reading is right up there near the top.
Reading is easy for those who know how. As a hobby, it is even easier. It can be done anywhere, and not only is it enjoyable, it also helps maintain active minds. There’s no sore muscles or twisted ankles. There’s no need to spend gobs of dough on it — unless one forgets to return one’s library-sourced tomes on time.
I like to read, but basically, right now I read so I can write. I decided to list all the activities I currently enjoy and actually do for fun. My list started with resale shopping, included conversation and laughter, and ended with me realizing I’m not really a hobbyist.
Although I’d like to spend time playing one of the several musical instruments in our home, I don’t. My miniatures and collectible dollhouses gather dust, and my art-making is on hiatus.
It isn’t that I don’t have the time, it’s that I don’t make the time. Where does our time go?
One time-snatcher is the thing most people have on hand at all times — the mighty little cellphone. Not that the phone, itself, is bad, but some of the habits that phones bring can waylay the best of intentions to pay attention to better things.
A recent snippet on National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered” focused on how youths are realizing how their cellphones have become constant companions and addictive amusement providers — especially for Gen Zers, who are currently between the ages of 11 and 25. It’s general knowledge that social media can profoundly and mostly negatively affect young people’s mental health, but sometimes those little glowing screens become an all-consuming, time-stealing hobby of mindless wandering.
It can happen to adults, too.
One interviewee, a female high school student, knew she was spending a lot of time on her phone but was shocked when her phone’s analytics proved she was spending between eight and 11 hours every day staring at its screen. She was picking up her phone to scroll, watch and check on things an average of 200 times daily.
It’s really not her fault. Entertainment and social network applications are built to induce addiction. The initial delight over something on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok or Snapchat (the current top four apps) triggers a release of dopamine, the happiness juice in our brains. Our brains then want more happiness juice, and the apps gladly oblige by instantly starting another video. Tricky, tricky, little apps.
No. Not tricky — treacherous and purposeful — because the more people watch, the more ads they see, which means the app maker can sell more ads and make more money. There it is — the money. It’s always about the money.
Money is not the only outcome. Apps are changing young people’s brain development and mental health, including their stress level. A quick online search provides a long list of research studies and articles. While some online community building can be helpful, most of the impacts are negative and not insignificant.
Another interviewee was a 25-year-old who decided his phone apps were no longer going to steal his time. He used app timers on his phone. His newly recovered free time allowed him to start creating the art he wanted (and needed) to create.
He was wise. Whenever a person wants to stop or reduce an unhealthy habit, success comes more easily when the old and unwanted activity is replaced with a beneficial action, or else one can slip right back into old ways. Cellphone screen versus creative expression — yeah, there’s a clear winner here.
I checked my phone usage. On average, I spend four hours a day on my phone. The top four uses, in order, were texting, online searching, calls and shopping. It’s easy to justify online searching, because I’m constantly thinking about current topics and chasing questions. It’s called research.
But shopping? That’s simply an expensive hobby.
To understand your phone usage and to use app timers:
• Android: Open settings and tap “digital wellbeing & parental controls.” Tap the chart. Next to the app you want to limit, tap “set timer.”
• Apple: Go to settings, select “screen time.” Here you can see usage and set downtimes and app limits.
Leslie Kouba is a columnist for cleveland.com.
