tanteI wonder if this trend of "Kidults" (as in adults buying toys or having other very "child-like" hobbies and preferences) is fueled by how little pathways to joy we leave to adults so many revert back to when Ninja Turtles made them happy.
If you actually like toys or Cartoons or whatever, go apeshit. (I also love me some Invader Zim and other things). But It feels a bit regressive when the only path to joy is leading backwards and not in the present or the future.
Like what are established forms of joy for adults that are
a) not based on competition/"excellence"/job-like performance
b) not talked about as wasteful/frivolous
c) accessible to people without a lot of spare cash?
a) not based on competition/"excellence"/job-like performance
b) not talked about as wasteful/frivolous
c) accessible to people without a lot of spare cash?
Jan Bretschneider@tante what about hobbies? Reading, knitting, painting, playing board games, dancing, cycling, hiking, swimming?
@bertvaneub sure there are those. But look at hoe they are framed: "You go swimming to be in competitions or for your fitness", reading is often framed as "education" and not joy (and literature that's really focused on job/fun is looked down upon).
The activities exist but what happens if you do them? How are you seen?
The activities exist but what happens if you do them? How are you seen?
@tante when I go swimming, I see a lot of people meeting, chatting, hanging out together, simply enjoying themselves. Same with reading, considering what books I see when I visit our library. So, no, the competition you seem to. experience is just the frame "they" imposed on you. Free yourself ;) sentire aude!
MinmiTheDinoThis is such an interesting discussion because
1) I don’t begrudge anyone their childlike hobbies if it brings them joy
2) I do think holding fast to childlike hobbies can make you miss the deeper, richer experiences of things adults can do and love, like literature or highly skilled crafts (among others)
3) I experience none of this contempt of hobbies that you seem to. In fact one of my favorite things about mastodon is the skill so many people put into their hobbies, and I feel like I admire them so much and so do others. I wonder how much is cultural and how much is internalized for both of us.