My dad has spent so much of his free time over his life birdwatching that I cannot grasp this statement as anything other than pedantry saying passive recreation can’t count as hobbies. Maybe watching a thing isn’t a hobby by the dictionary, but I think it’s pretty clear what the word “hobby” is intended to mean here.
Going and hunting down birds to look at is an activity that requires effort and I can justify that as a hobby. Sitting on the couch watching media does not, and is therefore in my mind decidedly not a hobby. And if we’re going to make an argument that by the most technical definition of the word that it is a hobby, I will argue that it’s not a respectable one.
My dad has spent so much of his free time over his life birdwatching that I cannot grasp this statement as anything other than pedantry saying passive recreation can’t count as hobbies. Maybe watching a thing isn’t a hobby by the dictionary, but I think it’s pretty clear what the word “hobby” is intended to mean here.
Going and hunting down birds to look at is an activity that requires effort and I can justify that as a hobby. Sitting on the couch watching media does not, and is therefore in my mind decidedly not a hobby. And if we’re going to make an argument that by the most technical definition of the word that it is a hobby, I will argue that it’s not a respectable one.