Hobbies can help relieve people from their own stress, while at the same time, allow them to develop and discover new abilities that make a person more creative and less prone to being distracted by addictive media. There are many hobbies in many different fields of creativity and productivity; some of these include outdoor or physical hobbies: hiking, dance, and martial arts, while others are under the category of arts and crafts hobbies, which include drawing, crocheting and sewing. With all these diverse hobbies, some of them are as affordable as most people think.
The article, “Self”, stated that when someone is about to start a hobby, on average, they have to spend about $100 each month. However, there is a possibility that some of these hobbies could be even more expensive than one may think. Senior Alyzah Tojino explained how her reading experience can be quite expensive, “I bought an e-reader that cost me like [$]200.” Three in five people have claimed that it had been difficult to start and maintain their desired hobby, start a hobby, or continue the hobby.
In the past couple years, inflation started to affect hobby materials prices increase. Buying and owning supplies for all different hobbies could make people distance themselves away from engaging and trying out hobbies. Therefore, engaging in these hobbies with these high prices could deter people from advancing and increasing their creativity skills and knowledge. Without challenging the brain and developing it more, people overtime could lose their creative side. Senior Ellie Tatham stated, “It kind of depends on the person. I think that some people just didn’t have the patience or the money to do it, like painting. Some could have been really into painting but they just could not really get started because they needed to spend money on more important things.”
Especially when supplies only last for a certain amount of time before they have to be replaced, these high prices could be discouraging to people who want to start. As senior Amanda Haavisto explained, if supplies get more higher in prices of supplies, she would eventually give up on the hobby, “I’d probably give up on the hobby itself, ‘cause a product that you made by your own hands was not worth the money that you put into it, if that, especially if you weren’t even selling it on Etsy.”
Another reason people do not want to start hobbies was that some have felt like they were not doing enough. Some could easily be distracted by social media and not be able to do a project in their hobby. Despite the cons and pros associated with these hobbies, they were very appealing to those wishing to advance their knowledge. Despite the price factor impacting the approach that an individual considered when they wished to begin the hobby, various approaches existed that did not present a challenge in terms of costs.
With inflation having the prices rise even more than ever, it makes things more difficult to start or continue a hobby, it can limit how many people are able to start a certain hobby, many people have found ways to encounter it. Some people have turned to doing it yourself moto, using free resources around their house , and altering items that they already. This helps people use their creative minds and engage with the activity. It can also help the ecosystem from overconsumption and makes it more fun for people.
