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Do kids these days have hobbies?
- Thread starter Axtman
- Start date
A lot of things have changed. Not one single kid I knew growing up in the 70's ever wore a helmet or pads of any kind unless it was organized sports. Now, it's rare to see kids riding a bike without a helmet and pads.
This is a good thing. A lot fewer kids going to the ER for head injuries and broken bones.
My brother and I used to climb trees unsupervised as soon as we could reach the branches. Had a few close calls almost falling out of a tree from 50 feet high or even higher. If I saw my granddaughter today, doing what I did then, I'd freak out.
She's 6 years old and plays electronic keys and e-drums. Music is becoming her hobby and passion.
Gaolee
Official leathers tester and crash dummy
I play music with a couple 28 year olds. There have been others who were as young as 17 who passed through the band at one time or another. My son, who plays music for a living, plays basketball for fun and plays the occasional video game. Most of his pastimes don't involve electronics. Given the resources, I don't think young people are all that different or any less interested in how things work, making things work, or any of the other things that older people do and did. They just aren't in a position to do those things yet. When they are, some of them will do those things. Others will grouse about younger people, just like some older people do now.
The fact is that the average cost of living in the U.S. is rising at a rate that just hasn't kept up with wage increases, and the thing about a fact is that you don't have to agree or accept it. It just is that way.
That's about as political as I'm going to get.
Anyway, yeah kids have hobbies. Obviously the popularity of some types of hobbies has evolved a bit. Yeah, I'm sure it should be obvious to the OP that less kids are playing with vintage radios these days seeing as the only radio they grew up with was the one in their parent's car.
For example though, the young machinist at my company (20 years old) and I were talking and I found out that not only does he work three jobs, he plays dungeons and dragons with his buddies. I have a friend in his late 20's who collects vacuums. My co-worker my age loves boating. Kids have hobbies, but people of all ages do as well.
Sometimes, older generations aren't the best at encouraging hobbies unfortunately, and I'd wager it comes from a place of ignorance (it's ok, we all do it from time to time...), but most kids soldier on anyway. A thread from last year comes to mind about the young kid on this board (high school age I think) was asking about 3D printing a Rickenbacker clone. Despite his original post having a ton of information, and a very clearly well thought out plan, there were quite a few naysayers. Instead of thinking "Ya know...that's pretty cool actually that we've come this far" it was met with "Just get a job and save up and buy one..." or "IT'LL NEVER WORK. YOU'LL WASTE YOUR TIME AND MONEY" It was very discouraging for me to read even in my late 30's. Luckily he soldiered on. It didn't work out perfectly the way he wanted (oh no, spoilers!) but he tried, and learned from it.
No. All kids are useless slugs. A drain on society. Previous generations were so superior in talent and intellect that we should simply roll up the sidewalks and catapult ourselves into the sun.
In summary - Old Guys = Awesome, capable of Anything
Young people = parasites feeding off the carcass of the once great civilization.
Any questions?
In summary - Old Guys = Awesome, capable of Anything
Young people = parasites feeding off the carcass of the once great civilization.
Any questions?
I met a young man last year – probably 10 or 11 years old – who is into collecting antique glass, ceramic and porcelain insulators. He knows the history of each one, and can tell you whether it was used on a telegraph, telephone or power transmission line. Restored my faith that not all of today's yoots are online 24/7 playing Fortnite.
The biggest money making hobby businesses these last 50 years have been porn and sports.
They're activities where you watch people doing stuff, while doing nothing.
Why does it come as a suprise that the same happens with videogames?
My son has turned his video gaming hobby in to a career that has him, at 24 years, making much more money than I ever have. He's a world traveler and has several hobbies- writes and records music, djay's for his friends and this is one of his:
Photography. Outdoor photography.
Our daughter is really in to crafting. With her vinyl cutter and spray paints she makes custom cooler cups for her friends and family, and aprons for her job. I don't think you can (easily) make gross generalizations about any generation. Not even about those durned snowbirds who come down here every winter and ruin our.....never mind!
Photography. Outdoor photography.
Our daughter is really in to crafting. With her vinyl cutter and spray paints she makes custom cooler cups for her friends and family, and aprons for her job. I don't think you can (easily) make gross generalizations about any generation. Not even about those durned snowbirds who come down here every winter and ruin our.....never mind!
This seems accurate to me. When I was a kid we listened to radio, as cassettes and online media hadn't been invented yet. Also, a radio was something that you could take the back off, look into and change tubes. You could take them apart, pull the speaker or transformer, fiddle with the flax cords used to turn the tuning mechanism...pretty interesting stuff.
Then pocket transistor radios came out, and there wasn't much you could do with those radios other than change the battery. Since then as things have moved farther to solid state, there's nothing to mess with. Even repairing a headphone jack can mean a circuit board replacement.
I have half a dozen very cool antique radios including this one - a portable that shows the station tuning in the clear handle, the on/off volume on the left round knobs, and the tuning on the right round knobs. The back face of the case opens to give access to the battery. I think this is incredibly cool - and BTW, it's almost a Fender tweed - but I doubt anyone who didn't grow up with old radios would find it interesting.
That is very cool. Cooler than anything Invalid Link Removed ever came up with, IMHO. But yeah, I suppose that one has to be of a certain vintage to truly appreciate it.
I'm not much of a nostalgia, everything was better before kind of guy but this pic speaks to me.
Your picture brings back pleasant memories for me.
When we all look back on history, we had different era's like the Industrial Revolution that changed the world. I am thinking that future historians, many years from now, we refer to the time we are now living as the Digital Revolution, or something to that effect. The changes to the world and how humans interact with each other are much bigger socially than the actual electronic technology that made it happen.
Kids have much more homework these days.
I'm curious what the social skills are like with the cybernaughts... because most millennials have next-to-zero social skills, and seem to be proud of it. I've observed and heard way too many stories about how 20-30-somethings don't want to converse with anyone unless it's through an electronic device. Clap... clap... clap...
I think that most grumpy old farts ( like me ) fail to realize how informed this younger gen is. They have everything at their fingertips and most kids of my daughters age who I've had dealings with search for knowledge like a rat does cheese. I think this gen is far more engaged than millennial's are. What are we calling my daughters gen anyway?Cybernaughts?
Yep - we're supposedly in the middle of the fourth industrial revolution right now. 1st was mechanization (18th, 19th centuries), then came mass production (early 20th century), then autmomation via computers/IT/robotics (late 20th century), and now the current digital revolution (21st century....and counting). It'll be interesting to see how this shakes out of the course of the rest of our lives.
I recall having this discussion with my grandmother who passed away in 2005 at the age of 99. She entered this world when horse and buggy was prevalent, no radio, no TV, few telephones. Was born into a rural life and died in an urban life. Lived through two world wars and the depression, saw the space age and the age of the internet emerge and then some before she passed. I can only imagine the range of impact this had on folks of her vintage.
I'm 45, and I don't either. I'm really not a fan of talking on the phone anymore, and most of my peers feel the same way. The only people I talk to regularly on the phone are my parents, and that's only because we don't live in the same state. But I do still enjoy face to face conversation.
And regarding hobbies, I know a lot of adults that don't have them either.
