What hobbies help you minimize or avoid navigating commercialism?

By commercialism, I’m aiming at a mix of spending a lot and sifting through bloated business models (e.g. this or that accessory/equipment, microtransactions, etc.). Feel like many can relate to this sort of commercial fatigue, and yet it creeps even into hobbies where one tries to unwind.

Lately I’ve picked up reading more again, as thanks to libraries I’m able to do just that, but I’m wondering what some other, less obvious options* might be.

:::spoiler * This is mainly for the going outside, walking folks. I enjoy a good walk from time to time, but I’m interested in activities that are a little less obvious. :::

Mrs_deWinter,

Writing stories/novels.

Chances are your initial expense will be zero. You most likely already own everything you could need. Almost everything available for purchase is unnecessary or completely ridiculous. Your friends and family won’t even know what to get you for Christmas over this new hobby.

Fill your everyday routine with daydreams and inspiration, imagine scenes and dialogues while your mind would otherwise go idle. Stuck in traffic? Turn up the music and imagine something. Bored doing chores? Picture yourself as one of your characters. Annoyed by strangers? Put them in your story and let a piano fall on their heads.

I truly think everybody should write. It’s such a delightful thing. Not to publish anything obviously - but because it’s fun, it’s easy and it’s completely free.

knightly,
@knightly@pawb.social avatar

Become a furry!

It’s more of a subculture than a hobby, but developing your own fursona and interacting with the furry community through it is a great way to kill time and make friends.

Plus, it’s compatible with all the other hobbies too, because no matter what it is there’s a group chat full of furries just as excited about it as you!

RamenDame,

Boardgames. You can go all in and Kickstart cool games and buy all the bits and pieces. But actually, board gamers are always in the lookout for players. Therefore you’ll find a big community with lots of games and it is not necessary to have your own games. If you do like to buy though but want to avoid costs, share it with someone. Make it your game. Many you can’t play alone anyway. I wouldn’t mind someone to have no games at all but spend the time with me to play. Your time is the most valuable. And: it is easier to find friends through board gaming than get your friends to play boardgames.

rockandsock,

Landscape photography. Do it while you are on your hike.

Bye,

Playing magic cards. I just print them all off at the library

FrickAndMortar,

Get yourself a speed loom for $20 and some thread or embroidery floss, and you can darn socks! This was my pandemic “learn a new skill”, and now the whole family brings me socks with holes, to fix.

And the “best” part is that cheap socks wear out around the patch, so then you get to / have to darn them again!

Tutorial:

youtu.be/qhPUjTxQgHA?si=L2hUlL7IBxboQ59L

Rentlar,

Learn a new language using Language Transfer method!

Pay what you want, but the lessons are very well done and quite different than your textbook (no writing anything down at all). The teacher doesn’t push you to donate at all but I tell you it’s absolutely valuable and worth it.

shinigamiookamiryuu,

Photography, drawing, browsing, some other things…

0x4E4F,

I repair almost everything and just love to tinker with gadgets and tech in general… repurpose/reuse old things, make beter versions of them, etc.

Simple example, all of my old audio equipment now has Bluetooth, an MP3 player, an aux input, a USB port (for MP3 playback) and an SD card reader (also for MP3 playback)… oh and let’s not forget the FM tuner that comes bundled with those thingies 😂. Don’t use it, but still, it is a nice option to have at your disposal 😉.

zero_spelled_with_an_ecks,

Some martial arts. A gi and a fee to keep the lights on. Avoid the places that guarantee black belts in a year or sell gear.

Zombiepirate,
@Zombiepirate@lemmy.world avatar

Lots of maker type hobbies do require an initial (and often ongoing) material purchase. Some are better than others at using what is at hand though.

Sewing/alterations is both a useful skill to have and allows you to repurpose old fabrics.

Art supplies can be quite expensive, but drawing materials are fairly ubiquitous. You likely have something within reach that you can practice with.

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