Current Events > In mature, well-adjusted people, are hobbies supposed to change every few years?

(+) Yeah! (+)

I was just browsing some self-help threads on Reddit, and I saw some people discussing how they felt behind the curve socially because their friends have different hobbies and judge them for the ones they've kept. In my experience, people tend to think whatever the people in their social group are doing is superior, and will look down on other less important people in their lives if they don't follow the same trends. Plenty of successful folks like professional athletes have nerdy hobbies like Pokemon or watching anime.

I think the other factor in terms of social "maturity" is whether or not you have a long-term partner or children. People with kids can't go out as much, and they like to give their childless friends a hard time because they become jealous of the free time and lack of responsibilities they used to have. This often gets framed as the childless friends supposedly being less mature when it is simply a matter of different life choices.

Maybe it's something in the water in the part of the US I'm from, but you'd be hard pressed around here to differentiate between a socially immature person and the crazy or semi-crazy folks who manage to exist without going to jail or a mental hospital. People just meander through life doing whatever and want to think their lives are more interesting and important than they actually are. Most people live boring lives, and an awful lot of the time, the well put together people are only putting on a front.

But I'm just a poster on a dying message board. What do I know?

Godnorgosh posted...

Hobbies are supposed to be whatever activities give you pleasure and seem to you to be worth your time outside of your personal and professional obligations. That's it. They don't need to change unless you want them to change.

This. The people that say they feel behind socially because they have different hobbies are people who only care about what others think. Sheep honestly. Do what you want if you enjoy it and it doesnt harm anyone. Your hobby doesnt have to match up with anyone else

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Nah. It's probably ideal to evolve them and try new things but some people need consistency and stability.

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Hobbies are what give you pleasure. They can change, or wax and wane over time due to quality and real life. Still, I'ld say the opposite: if you change your hobbies frequently you may not actually enjoy them so much as the socialization and FOMO.

The rest of us will still with what we like.

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darkmaian23 posted...

People with kids can't go out as much, and they like to give their childless friends a hard time because they become jealous of the free time and lack of responsibilities they used to have. This often gets framed as the childless friends supposedly being less mature when it is simply a matter of different life choices.

This is true. My ex wife's best friend had a baby, and they were fond of saying "must be nice" to damn near anything we did/said. One day I finally said "yeah it's pretty fucking grand" and everyone thought I was the asshole lol

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