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The story
A thread where a man in his 30s complained that he “can’t find a hobby” drew a flood of replies from the Live Reporting board on 5channel.
Some argued that being too busy raising kids to have hobbies of his own was met with “child-rearing is basically a hobby,” while others pushed back, saying that confuses parenting — a basic responsibility — with a hobby. Meanwhile, posters kept listing real hobbies they actually spend money and time on, like golf, running, tailored suits, car washing, and gardening, sparking a wider debate over what “hobby” even means.
What people said
This.
Also, once your kid starts a lesson like soccer, you end up playing soccer with them too — your own hobbies end up shaped by your kids.
Still going on about what's trendy past 30 is kind of childish
about as cringe as a guy past 30 still going on about his love life
Costs way too much money, can't help it.
Other than that, you buy a house or condo and get into fixing that up.
Switched to a TaylorMade SIM2 driver and now I'm hitting 270 yards.
Haiku and tanka are kind of having a moment, in a way.
They play gateball every week at my local park.
Once you hit 30 and everyone around you stops caring how they look, a guy who's still into fashion ends up looking cool.
Feel sorry for your kids, honestly
having an uncool dad really sucks for them.
Totally get that mindset. The older you get, the more you should keep your grooming and style on point.
Same here, I've been trying to get into Korean fashion lately — picking up stuff from MUSINSA and Matin Kim.
Your time goes into your kid's baseball, basketball, dance, whatever.
Calling child-rearing your hobby is kind of messed up though.
Raising your kids is just something you're supposed to do — the real question is what you do with your own time on top of that.
Supporting what your kid wants to do?
Isn't that a hobby in itself?
A lot of people look for things they can actually enjoy together with their kids.
Am I the weird one here?
FYI I'm in sales.
Same here.
My Dormeuil made-to-order suit ran me 230,000 yen.
Cheap hobby.
You polishing the engine bay and spark plugs too?
It's stupidly fun.
Did anything else change for you?
Is that even a hobby…? 🤔
You guys don't have dogs or anything?
I've had a huntsman spider trapped in my bathroom for about a month — does that count as a pet?
my days off are way too boring.
I'm weight training for my future grandkids' sake.
Background and Key Points of the Debate
The central sticking point in this thread was a definitional one: can raising kids really be called a “hobby”? Those who framed parenting as a kind of hobby were pointing to how a child’s extracurricular activities end up reshaping a parent’s own interests and pursuits, while those who disagreed argued from the premise that parenting is simply a baseline parental duty, whereas a hobby is something you freely choose to enjoy for yourself. In other words, the two sides were talking past each other because they never agreed on what counts as a “hobby” in the first place. The flood of examples like golf, running, suits, and car washing can also be read as a generational pattern: men in their 30s tend to have more slack in their wallets than in their free time, so their hobbies naturally skew toward the kind that cost money.
※This article is compiled and summarized from the 5ch (NanG) thread “[Sad News] Men over 30 can’t find a hobby lololololololololololololololololololol”.
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