Hobbies Then and Now

How is our pandemic like the Great Depression, you might ask?  It's like the Great Depression because, due to the collapse of the economy, huge numbers of people have lost their jobs, or been downsized, and therefore have a whole lot of free time all of a sudden.

And that, we are told, is why people play bridge.

The COVID-19 pandemic "has led to a surge of hobbies," including "tie-dyeing clothes, attending PowerPoint parties and partaking in TikTok challenges."  During the Great Depression, hobbies that emerged included "stamp collecting, music making, woodworking and birdwatching."  And playing bridge. which had not been a well-known pastime before the 1930s.

There's even a scholarly paper describing the emergence of hobbies - as well as the term "hobby" - during the Depression, including the observation that "the underlying reasons for the emergence of hobbies as a socially sanctioned pastime lay in the similarities between work and hobbies, not in their differences."  Hobbies were a substitute 'job' that engaged the millions who had lost theirs.

Birdwatching, music making, woodworking and stamp collecting are still popular hobbies, with national and international organizations connecting enthusiasts all over the globe.  We still play bridge, too.  What new hobbies will the new world include?

I don't have any clothes that I'd really like to tie-dye, and I'm not sure what TikTok is.  Having experienced my fill of Power Point in my career, I'm not sure a PP-themed party would be attractive.  But I have taken up a hobby - one that I think many of us have enjoyed during this past year:  I write a blog.  This one.  However, "The New World" will not make it into the new world.  As soon as this is "over," and we can stick our heads up and look around the place, I'll probably write a few final posts describing what I see, and sign off.  

Or maybe I'll find some bridge partners and write a bridge blog.  Anything can happen.