Okay so for example:
Playing video games: we got AI shenanigans and cost of computers rising (not just gaming computers but electronics overall), its possible that in 2030, nobody could afford a computer so the one you got could be the last one you ever have (lets hope not, but like its not impossible)
…
I do wonder tho: What hobby is actually shielded from turbulent times.
I read paper books that I own, listen to vinyl that I own and watch DVD’s that I also own. I have a garden. I love going to the opera, visiting museums and galleries. Snorkeling is pretty cool in summer. Volunteer work in a couple of nearby nature preserves keeps my weekends busy. I have an aquarium and two ponds in the garden. Four cats. Beyond that I take long walks in beautiful places and look for insects, birds and plants. If iNaturalist becomes enshittified and cameras become unaffordable, there is still the OG notebook and pencil way of recording observations. Might take up drawing again, if I can find the time. Or wood carving.
I don’t think I will run out of options in this life.
You’ll get a new computer again, but you won’t own it.
Do all the things AI is threatening to make obsolete and refuse to let go.
Make games, art, music, write books.
Fuck AI. Don’t let it take our culture and leave us the menial labour.
I keep fish using the Walstad method and as little tech as possible.
Im not saying you cant enshittify glass boxes because oh boy have they tried but the same methods that kept my fish alive and well 20 years ago are still going to work 20 years from now.
shitting on commie islamists on lemmy never gets old
Not immune to enshittification. The maintainer of Lemmy is a Marxist Leninist and also Fediverse can get legislated out of existence.
Calling it a hobby might be a stretch, but I collect and cut my own firewood. I live next to ~100 acres of woods that has a “never ending” supply of fallen trees.
I don’t imagine AI wandering the dense woods after a storm with an axe and chopping trees down to a length that’s manageable to carry a couple miles back home and splitting logs.
I absolutely love it and if a robot tried to take that from me it’d end up in the fireplace.
I’m not sure anything is completely immune to enshitification. So mine is as good as any. I play disc golf. I live in a pretty good place for that. There are about 12 courses near me and more that are a bit of a drive and all of them are free.
jerking off
AI porn
Conlanging. No less than JRR Tolkien himself noted how wallet-friendly the hobby can be. All you need is stuff you certainly already have, namely stuff to write with. It’s such a niche hobby that there aren’t many commercial tools for it, and any programs like lexicon makers and word generators are usually thrown together by members of the community and offered as is for free.
Also the broader hobby of conworlding, but since that’s basically worldbuilding for its own sake there are a lot of commercial tools meant for dungeonmasters and fiction writers that also work here. Many of these tools require an account (lookin’ at you, WorldAnvil).
Years ago I started gardening. Small stuff like herbs that I could use on my food like basil and rosemary (pro tip, it’s difficult to kill rosemary and it looks nice). I adopted a dog and she keeps me away from the PC by needing some walks and sniffs. I get in a good 2-3 miles a day even as she ages.
I stopped reading books years ago and got sucked into the “inner world” of the internet and gaming. I’m now pulling myself back out of that and trying to do more in the “outer world”. Dungeon Crawler Carl is a great starting point to pull out of gaming so much. I’m also writing short stories, even if I don’t intend on ever publishing.
Cooking shows on YouTube are pretty great. I’m learning how to cook better and not relying on frozen pizzas or premade meals as much. Shout out to Chef John from foodwishes.com. Your short videos are a reason I’m eating healthier (arguably).
tl;dr Hobbies can be anything. You just have to put time and effort into it.
God dammit Donut! (What do you write about?)
MUDs are irrelevant enough that no one is looking to squeeze them for profit.
Iron Realms tried but I think like only two of them made any money.
I got an ocarina to learn how to play. No electricity needed. Sometimes I joke to my partner that I cant play my ocarina cuz I forgot to charge it. I thought about getting a harmonica but liked the sound of the ocarina more.
Surfing. Buy the gear once, and you’re good to go. You can also learn how to do some minor repairs and buy the gear used. If all else fails, you can learn how to shape a board yourself, or just go bodysurfing (fins strongly recommended).
I’ve always wanted to try surfing but I’m super inland. Though I did find out recently that there is an artificial wave generation spot a couple hours away that I should try someday
learning to play an instrument and learn a new language still feels very organic
(side note about music: if playing an instrument and going online to learn, just ignore the enshittified headlines “the most overplayed song on instrument”…fuck them. if you like it and playing it makes you a better musician, ignore the gate keeper assholes trying to ruin a good thing even at the learning stage. good music is popular for a reason)
as is drawing/painting with real paint on paper - again, if you are learning online ignore the gatekeeper enshittified titles.
also writing stories: ive air gapped myself from using any online resources for it. took more effort than it really should tho just to stay away from AI laden doc softwares.
also audio/ reading. but researching is getting heavier to make sure im reading a human written story… i swear we are going in the direction where we start printing it out and meeting to exchange stories again just to escape the slop.
Model trains is the only one I can think of. Unlike my other hobbies of electronics and cars, vintage model trains have already gone up and mostly come back down, and so are affordable at any train show. Of course there are pieces that are in the thousands, but there are a lot of very cheap pieces.
The retro game scene is somewhat similar, eh. But we’re in the era where people think old means valuable. A Mario/Duck Hunt is not worth 20 dollars. But people pay it, so the floor for common stuff is too high now. You need to go for weird games that slipped through the cracks.
