Hobby

A hobby is a regular activity that is done for enjoyment, typically during one's leisure time. Hobbies can include collecting themed items and objects, engaging in creative and artistic pursuits, playing sports, or pursuing other amusements. A list of hobbies is lengthy and always changing as interests and fashions change. By continually participating in a particular hobby, one can acquire substantial skills and knowledge in that area. Engagement in hobbies has increased since the late nineteenth century as workers have more leisure time and advancing production and technology have provided more support for leisure activities. As some hobbies have become less popular, like stamp collecting, others have been created following technological advances, such as video games.

Hobbyists are a part of a wider group of people engaged in leisure pursuits where the boundaries of each group overlap to some extent. The Serious Leisure Perspective groups hobbyists with amateurs and volunteers and identifies three broad groups of leisure activity with hobbies being found mainly in the Serious leisure category.
a. Casual leisure is intrinsically rewarding, short-lived, pleasurable activity requiring little or no preparation.
b. Serious leisure is the systematic pursuit of an amateur, hobbyist, or volunteer that is substantial, rewarding and results in a sense of accomplishment.
c. Project-based leisure is a short-term often a one-off project that is rewarding<sup>.

ETYMOLOGI

In the 16th century, the term "hobyn" had the meaning of "small horse and pony". The term "hobby horse" was documented in a 1557 payment confirmation for a "Hobbyhorse" from Reading, England. The item, originally called a "Tourney Horse", was made of a wooden or basketwork frame with an artificial tail and head. It was designed for a child to mimic riding a real horse. By 1816 the derivative, "hobby", was introduced into the vocabulary of a number of English people. Over the course of subsequent centuries, the term came to be associated with recreation and leisure. In the 17th century, the term was used in a pejorative sense by suggesting that a hobby was a childish pursuit, however, in the 18th century with a more industrial society and more leisure time, hobbies took on greater respectability A hobby is also called a pastime, derived from the use of hobbies to pass the time. A hobby became an activity that is practised regularly and usually with some worthwhile purpose. Hobbies are usually, but not always, practised primarily for interest and enjoyment, rather than financial reward.</sup> 

Hobbies and related leisure activities

The terms amateur and hobbyist are often used interchangeably. Stebbins has a framework which distinguishes the terms has a useful categorisation of leisure in which he separates casual leisure from serious Leisure. He describes serious leisure as undertaken by amateurs, hobbyists and volunteers. Amateurs engage in pursuits that have a professional counterpart, such as playing an instrument or astronomy. Hobbyists engage in five broad types of activity: collecting, making and tinkering (like embroidery and car restoration), activity participation (like fishing and singing), sports and games, and liberal-arts hobbies (like languages, cuisine, literature). Volunteers commit to organisations where they work as guides, counsellors, gardeners and so on. The separation of the amateur from the hobbyist is because the amateur has the ethos of the professional practitioner as a guide to practice. An amateur clarinetist is conscious of the role and procedures of a professional clarinetist.
A large proportion of hobbies are mainly solitary in nature. However, individual pursuit of a hobby often includes club memberships, organised sharing of products and regular communication between participants. For many hobbies there is an important role in being in touch with fellow hobbyists. Some hobbies are of communal nature, like choral singing and volunteering.
During the 20th century there was extensive research into the important role that play has in human development. While most evident in childhood, play continues throughout life for many adults in the form of games, hobbies, and sport.
The type of hobbies that people engage in changes with time. In the 21st century the video game industry is very large hobby involving millions of kids and adults in various forms of 'play'. Stamp collecting has declined along with the decline in the importance of the postal system. Woodwork and knitting have declined as hobbies as manufactured goods provide cheap alternatives for handmade goods. Through the internet an online community has become a hobby for many people; sharing advice, information and support, and in some cases, allowing a traditional hobby, such as collecting, to flourish and support trading in a new environment.
People who engage in hobbies have an interest in and time to pursue them. Children have been an important group of hobbyists because they are enthusiastic for collecting, making and exploring, in addition to this they have the leisure time that allows them to pursue those hobbies. The growth in hobbies occurred during industrialisation which gave workers set time for leisure. During the Depression there was an increase in the participation in hobbies because the unemployed had the time and a desire to be purposefully occupied. Hobbies are often pursued with an increased interest by retired people because they have the time and seek the intellectual and physical stimulation a hobby provides. Studies of ageing and society support the value of hobbies in healthy ageing.

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