Hobby or not?

I was speaking to a friend and she was adamant that fish keeping is NOT a hobby. I couldn't believe what I was hearing, to me it is of course a hobby! You're constantly expanding your learning, doing research and doing all sorts of things for them in your spare time.

Her example was "I have a great interest in shoes, buying shoes, new styles etc I go out and buy them and I research what new styles are, when they are coming out, which celebrities are releasing brands but it still isn't a hobby".

What do you guys think, hobby or not?

 

Yes it's a hobby. Of course it's a hobby. My argument would also be that you can make a hobby out of anything. According to webster's dictionary a hobby is

"a pursuit outside one's regular occupation engaged in especially for relaxation"

As long as someone is not paying you to keep fish, and you do this for fun during your own time, then it's a hobby. Watching paint dry can be a hobby. A really awful one. But still a hobby

 

shopping could be considered a hobby too. Right?

Fish keeping is most definitely a hobby. A fun rewarding hobby.

 

I like to think of it as a hobby for the responsible ONLY. It is most definitly a hobby because we spend our time willingly doing what we have to do for them but it is also a responisibility that we take on as fish owners. We have certain things to do that are not something you do "just because you want to" but because they have to be done in order to keep the fish alove and healthy.

 

So what is her definition of a hobby?

I think the only time Fishkeeping isn't a hobby is when it's a career

 

I replied "define a hobby then" and got the below reply:

Its activities you spend time doing out of pleasure but researching and caring don't count. Otherwise having any animal would be a hobby.

 

this is what Wikipedia says....

Fishkeeping is a popular hobby concerned with keeping fish in a home aquarium or garden pond.

 

I replied "define a hobby then" and got the below reply:

Its activities you spend time doing out of pleasure but researching and caring don't count. Otherwise having any animal would be a hobby.

I think if you are a person who keeps a fish in a bowl and does nothing to learn about it or grow with it.....it is just keeping a pet. Definitely not a hobby.

Whereas, when person who starts out with a fish in a bowl, researches, learns and grows with the fish....then it becomes a hobby. Throw live plants in the mix and it becomes even more of a hobby. Just like gardening. You are learning and growing and experimenting and it is all for fun!!

Another example would be....If you keep a dog as a pet only, then it's a pet. If you keep a dog, breed the dog, show the dog, etc....then it becomes more of a hobby.

That is how I see it.

 

definitely a hobby
I wrote so in my resume
my interviewer was curious about it

 

Point out that her shoe buying is a hobby too, especially under her definition. That ought to flummox her.

 

I don't know why anyone would make buying shoes a hobby, but that is exactly what your friend has done. @chromdome52 nailed it.

 

I have no idea either. Whatever floats her boat haha.

 

I think if you are a person who keeps a fish in a bowl and does nothing to learn about it or grow with it.....it is just keeping a pet. Definitely not a hobby.

Whereas, when person who starts out with a fish in a bowl, researches, learns and grows with the fish....then it becomes a hobby. Throw live plants in the mix and it becomes even more of a hobby. Just like gardening. You are learning and growing and experimenting and it is all for fun!!

Another example would be....If you keep a dog as a pet only, then it's a pet. If you keep a dog, breed the dog, show the dog, etc....then it becomes more of a hobby.

That is how I see it.

I completely agree with this post. owning a pet doesn't mean that pet ownership is your hobby; however, as someone who devotes time and energy to actually working with and training my dogs, I see dog ownership as a hobby in certain ways.

 

Sorry hit the wrong button. If you train someone else's dog it becomes a business. I think one needs to enjoy an activity for it to be hobby. I may research what shoes I'm going to buy but I don't get much pleasure from buying shoes thus its not a hobby.

Sent from my XT1045 using Fish Lore Aquarium Fish Forum mobile app

 

For the amount of money I've spent on it, the amount of time I've spent researching fish, plants, and aquascaping techniques, the amount of time I've spent maintaining my tanks, and how relaxed I am when doing it all, I'd day it a hobby.
And I only have two tanks!


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