What Happened to Hobbies?

A few years ago, after I had moved out of the dorms and into my first apartment, one of my roommates, an art student, would always bring home his latest creations, whether it be a knife he had forged or a mug or a painting, I would always think "wow look at this awesome stuff he is creating, why don't I ever make anything cool like that?" However, I would tell myself he does these things in his classes and I don't have time for that. One day I actually looked at how I spent my time though, I noticed I was spending a large amount of my time ether on social media or watching Netflix. So I decided I was going to pick up a hobby and try to create something with my time rather than just watch TV and scroll through social media with all my free time. Two years later I find myself able to create just about anything out of wood, I've built end tables, rocking chairs, carved chess sets, and many other tings. I can also now play the guitar moderately well and am now attempting to learn to play the piano.

So you may be asking what point am I trying to make here? I've spoken to many friends and classmates who tell me they are too busy to have a hobby of any sort, yet when I ask those same people if they know of any good Netflix series they will immediately tell me about three different series and about the time they binge watched a whole series in one weekend. In 2015 the average time spent on a Netflix account per day was one hour and 33 minutes. At the same time the average American spends 4.7 hours a day on their phones.  Now I'm not saying you should swear off Netflix, or stop using your phones, because watching an episode or movie on Netflix from time to time can be very relaxing and fun! And Smart phones can be great tools. However, spending hours on social media and watching Netflix all day are not healthy physically or mentally.

Having a hobby on the other hand, whatever it may be, can be very beneficial. A hobby can help you develop your creativity which could transfer directly to your work. It can also increase your confidence having skills outside of work might prepare you to be ready for a change in your career. Hobbies can also help you grow as a person and truly discover who you are and what you want to do. 

So next time you are planning a day of Netflix think what else you could be doing or maybe even what you've wanted to do for a while but haven't had time.

http://time.com/4186137/netflix-hours-per-day/

http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/informate-report-social-media-smartphone-use/

https://www.govloop.com/community/blog/5-reasons-everyone-hobby/