Hobbies are regular activities that people practice for enjoyment, typically during their leisure time. They can be activities that are taken up and pursued for enjoyment or a sense of achievement, or they may be more serious and involve learning or improving one’s skills in the hobby. Hobbies can be broadly divided into three categories: casual leisure which are short-lived, pleasurable activity that doesn’t require much planning or effort; serious leisure which involves a systematic pursuit of an amateur, or hobbyist, pursuit of a particular interest such as sport, art or music and which has some long-term goals; and project-based leisure, which is a specific, but often one-off, project that is rewarding.
Hobbies can be solitary in nature, but many of them involve social interaction through club membership, sharing and communication between participants and some, such as raising animals and plants or making clothes, have a community aspect. Some hobbies produce an end product, whether it be woodworking, a software project such as moviemaking or jewelry making, an artistic creation such as painting or drawing, or creating models out of card stock or paper known as papercraft, up to higher-end projects like assembling and restoring cars or building computers.
Developing good hobbies can help children develop moral, social and creative skills that they will carry with them into their adult lives. Hobbies also help keep children’s minds off other things and can give them a sense of purpose beyond their school work. Hobbies can be a great way to make new friends and to find out more about people.
