Reassessing Hobbies In The Age Of Social Media

WRITING DURING THE middle of my writer’s retreat at the Rimbun Dahan arts centre, near Sungai Buloh, I was inspired by its peaceful environment to adopt some generous perspectives about the world. I turn to a seemingly innocuous subject: the hobby. How much time do you need to spend on an interest, and what proportion of your earnings and savings do you have to be willing to spend (not invest) on that interest, before you can honestly call it a hobby?

It is a difficult question, deciding what a hobby is, and what is not. But let us ponder further.

I like doing some gardening on my big balcony. But when I consider the little time and money I spend on it, I would not claim that gardening is really a hobby of mine. What I really like is having a green and luxuriant balcony.

I have more books at home than most people do nowadays. But they are, in the final account, just potential reading material. I shelve them more or less meticulously by subject, as a way of reminding myself of my intellectual pursuits, lest I forget what I was once excited about. Well, I suppose collecting books can be considered a hobby.

I used to spend a lot of time watching television—almost every evening. I doubt it helped me sleep, but it did entertain me. Was that a hobby? I do not think of it as such.