What Happened to Hobbies?

What Happened to Hobbies? (The Loss of Creativity and Individuality & the Rise of Monetization)

I know I'm probably late to this, and so so many people have gone over the same thing, but I wanted to add my thoughts and opinions on this topic as someone who is a very creative person and always has been, and has noticed a Loss of Creativity and Individuality in our culture with the Rise of Monetization and generative AI. But I think this comment below puts most of my thoughts and points I’ll bring up throughout this little ramble perfectly, and clearly...

“We shamed people who handmade things, then social media made collecting literally anything and everything a personality trait and a money making opportunity, then the same thing happened with the second-hand market. Hobbies got destroyed because people thought the hobbies were about them, instead of enjoying the hobby itself. Much like how concerts were better and more memorable and more freeing without cellphones.”

But what are these “Popular Hobbies”? Well some popular ones are anything to do with the arts like writing, reading, painting, crafting, sewing, or playing an instrument. If you’re not very artsy you could always play a sport or join some kind of extra curricular. Or maybe you want something a little more hands on like baking/cooking, workshopping with wood or metal, or gardening. There’s also collecting trinkets, vintage knick-knacks, or fandom items like merch, memorabilia, figurines, or set pieces. Gaming can also count towards this, especially if you like a specific series and collect the games or just play them a lot. Anything you can think of probably would be considered a hobby in one way or another. It’s mostly just something you like to do in your free time, or something you do to pass the time. But, it seems that most of these hobbies aren’t just for fun anymore, or people have less and less time and motivation to take part in them.

It seems that hobbies now can’t just be done for fun. Why don't people do hobbies or take part in learning a hobby now? Well it can be due to a lot of factors, most commonly lately has been from Burnout. Most people now have to work multiple jobs, most which are draining, soul-sucking jobs, that defeat and belittle a person. You use all your energy to make just enough money to scrape by, put up with an employer who does not care about you, or pretends to, and by the end of the day or work week, what time to you have for yourself? What strength do you have left over to take part in something that will not help your financial situation?

Which leads me into my next point which I will call “death by monetization” and “social media”. How much joy does your hobby actually bring you once you start posting about it online in the hopes you can start making money? How much do you start to compare yourself to others? Are you sharing for fun or are you hoping by some miracle you will find a group of people who enjoy your product and want to buy it consistently? It starts to become a job, and it can become discouraging, especially with all the bullies and haters online. I mean, “Just LOOK at the comments on a young artists (children, mind you) TikTok of their art!”. People online are so quick to bring down children just excited about their new hobby or passion projects, and because it’s not immediately perfect, they’ll hate or say it’s not a real job worth pursuing.

From an early age the adults in our lives loved to downplay our enthusiasm for our hobbies and passions (aka. writing, art, music, games won't get you anywhere in life, those aren't real jobs that pay "livable wages")

“I used to write. I always wanted to be a writer but writing ‘won’t pay the bills’ so I stopped and I find myself struggling to want to pick that up again. I used to draw. I used to paint. I used to sculpt. I used to play guitar. I don’t do any of that anymore,”

“You should be doing your homework instead of wasting your time,”

And it’s not just the arts, it’s also sports and entertainment. You can’t just have fun, or use it as a form of exercise or stress relief. You must compete and be the best. You must be aesthetic because you aren’t allowed to look bad online without criticism. You must be perfect immediately, or the hobby/sport is a waste of your time. If you join or start later in life, instead of when you were a kid, you’ll never catch up.

“You can’t just have fun doing stuff, you HAVE to compete. Gymnastics would’ve made me join a competitive team at twelve so I stopped. Choir made me compete in state and solo competitions so I stopped. Art class made me submit and defend my art in competitions so I stopped. I could never just enjoy the act of doing I HAD to compete and defend my right to do them at all. So now I play video games by myself,”

Everything is expensive now, and hobbies especially! Hobbies are deemed useless if you're not making money by older generations, or you can’t become super successful or get scholarships. What kind of message does that send? A hobby shouldn’t be downplayed or deemed useless, especially when many make a person who they are, or can be used to relax or calm someone down. Too many people are quick to call a hobby “cringe” or embarrassing. But, why are we so quick to point out someone's flaws in their art? Why are people so quick to hate and laugh?

I’ve heard people say, “Here’s a thought! For those who are worried about being ‘cringe’, why not enjoy your hobbies without broadcasting them on socials?”

And why shouldn’t people be excited to share their art? If you were proud of something, wouldn’t you want to share? If you had questions, wouldn’t you want feedback? But, again this loops back to how hobbies are being seen as a source of income, not just fun. Which leads me onto my thoughts about “Hobby Inflation” & the “Need” for Monetization

I know I mentioned this a little bit before, and I have continuously brought this up, but I really do want to talk about the hobby inflation, or maybe a better word is over saturation, and this “need” to monetize everything. I’ve tried to make money from my art and writing, for fun, and even that can be demoralizing. I couldn’t imagine people genuinely wanting to sell their art, share their music, a young child or teen so excited to share their passion and plan for a future career, only to have to face the fact that everyone has resorted to hobbies and low effort content to make money.

We seem to have this engrained idea in our brains, or maybe more so from current society that “if you can’t monetize your hobby, why are you doing it?” and I can’t express how harmful that is. But, unfortunately our society has become so dependent on money and income, and sometimes this hope of making a hobby lucrative is some people’s last hope to be able to afford to live.

But it’s not like it used to be, selling your art at a fair or convention was fun, only a select few would make art, write music, had certain skills with wood or metals, art meant something. And I hate seeing how oversaturated hobbies have become on social media and at fairs. It doesn’t feel authentic anymore. I would love to be able to sell my art, publish my writing, I mean is that not every artists dream? To share their work with people who have similar interests and like their work? But I don’t have the support or interest in my work, I don’t have the time to market and market and market, and push out art and writing every day! I don’t have that luxury. I enjoy my writing and art as a hobby, and I’m content with it staying a hobby.

Still I think that’s because I can’t help but see and hate how oversaturated the art and hobby “industry” has become in the last few years. Everyone thinks they’re an artist, everyone thinks they’re good, or thinks they have something to say (mostly reaction content creators who don’t add on or create discussion, and especially podcast bros! You have absolutely nothing to say of substance...).

“Calling it the ‘Hobby Industry’ is such a good example of how our perspective on leisure and rest has been influenced by ‘productivity’, hustle culture, and our general capitalistic mindset,”

Everyone turns to hobbies as a source of 2nd income, even if that isn't their passion, it's just "easy". Everyone seems to have an online shop filled to the brim with mass produced crap. T-shirts, glass water bottles, calendars, stickers, cards, keychains, etc. It’s all the same simple clip art designs, and so heavily marketed online, that it pushes real artists labors of love to the bottom, or stops it from being seen at all. All so they can make a quick buck or try and sell a course. Often they will use AI or copyright free clipart, and if they are designing it themselves it’s something so so simple, and often not worth the price they are selling it for.

AI Slop and normal Generative slop has taken over artist spaces, and this is mostly what I’m talking about when I say that hobbies and creative spaces are oversaturated. People will take a normal hobby, one that artists, musicians, and animators will poor their blood, sweat and tears into, and type a few words into a generator and say their AI is real art. It takes up more space because it can be produced in 5 seconds, and ultimately can be made faster and make more. More isn’t always better. Often people will use AI because it’s easy and doesn’t require thought or practice. Want to write a book so you can make money? Generate one. Want to make art to sell at a convention? Generate it. What once was seen as a talent and special skill, has been reduced to the phrase “AI can do it faster”. And isn’t that demoralizing? You can spend your whole life practicing drawing or painting, and you art will be overshadowed by AI slop generated in mass. Why take months or years of your time to write a book, with a story, character, and lessons you are so passionate about when someone will use AI to write a whole series. Forget taking time to write and produce, or take vocal lessons, to produce your dream album when AI can make 5 albums in a month and no one would be able to tell the difference.

How awful is it to know that your love, passion, and genuine interest in something will now be overshadowed by a program that is getting so much better every year, its hard to tell what's real. No one using ChatGPT cares that it’s killing the planet, they just know it makes them money quick and with little effort. So why would someone take the time to learn, when it’s so normalized to take the lazy route.

I think this burnout from society now and the rise of AI, has been a major factor in this “Return to Analog in 2026 (and the Return to Hobbies)”. In the past few months I have seen a shift in the content on my feeds and overall mindset towards social media. It seems like most people are done with the oversaturation and bleak future of tech and social media.

“What I don’t get is why these people just don’t do these things again. There’s nothing stopping you from reading a book, listening to an album, playing games, learning a new skill, taking a walk. You don’t have to spend your days and nights glued to a screen,”

And while that is true, it’s hard. It’s hard being exhausted from work, burnout from doing so much to survive and barely get by. It’s disheartening to watch the rise of AI and how it has taken over creative spaces and outlets. You are constantly reminded how the things you thought made you special, talented, aren’t actually that amazing. Everything is framed like a personal failure now. Tired? Work harder. Broke? Get a second job, a third job! Burnt out? Learn a new skill or try therapy. Anxious? Get new medication and keep going. At what point do we admit the problem isn’t effort, but a system that demands constant output to stay afloat!

We weren’t meant to live like this. Look at how many people are stressed, anxious, depressed, and can’t take the time to slow down, because if you stop for even a second you will be behind. You will suffer the consequences. But when people take a second to step back, try that hobby they liked from their childhood, watch a show with friends, go for a quick walk, you feel just a little bit better for five minutes.

I’d like to think many people are growing aware of this feeling and are choosing to revert back to a simpler, nostalgic time, where life felt slower, felt more manageable. You felt like you had control, like your hobbies, interests, things were yours. You can really only take so much pressure before you snap. I mean look at how Gen Alpha is being raised, how they can’t regulate their emotions, how much they lack empathy and basic social skills. It’s not necessarily their fault, but it’s the way the world has shaped them. They aren’t allowed to have interests, they don’t have a sense of self since they look up to influencers and podcasters who are trying to sell them every experience and personality trait. It’s sad to see them acting like mini adults. Most don’t know how to write or read or play, some of the most common hobbies to have.

I can’t express how excited I am for us all to slow down together. We don’t need constant stimulation. We shouldn't need to constantly perform, or feel the need to monetize ourselves and our talents and hobbies.

I think the thing to remember about all of this is that you can pick your hobbies back up at any time. You can start doing those things you loved all over again. It’s not too late, and honestly this is probably the best time to get back into hobbies, whether for fun, stress relief, or a distraction. If you’re worried about money, or maybe you want to try something new and don’t want to commit, there’s tons of options to check out. There’s free hobbies, most libraries have items other than books you can rent out, and there’s always groups that are selling or trying to give away supplies. You just have to make time to try things out or get into a routine, even if it starts out slow, or a few hours each week.

I would love to hear your thoughts or opinions on this whole topic, and I’m sorry for kind of going all over the place. I hope it made sense and I hope to make more videos and writings like this soon!

Thank you so much for your support! :)