I feel like MLs have a tendency to do this.

Espeically when it comes to the topic of "liberals" and "AOC."

  • space_comrade [he/him]
    ·
    1 year ago

    Gardening, cooking, biking, hiking, camping, fishing, surfing, exercising in general, woodcarving, knitting, dicking around with Linux, dicking around with microscopes, dicking around with backyard telescopes, tinkering with old appliances, stamp collecting, raising an ant farm, traveling in general, trainspotting, birdwatching, home brewing, and the list goes on. I've listed both low brow and high brow hobbies that don't rely on you being plugged in to pop culture.

    Most of those are very involved hobbies that take up a lot of time and energy. People occasionally need to wind down with a movie or a book or whatever, and most of those are involved with pop culture.

    • NewHexbearNewMe [they/them]
      ·
      1 year ago

      People occasionally need to wind down

      Sure, but "find ways to divest from pop culture/find hobbies that are less steeped in pop culture" doesn't mean "no mass media ever". Just like, maybe pick something historically interesting instead of Obama's memoir, or some ursula leguin instead of Orson Scott Card (he was the fascist one right not Herbert?).

      And yes capitalism leaves us with less time and energy to get into more rewarding activities, but it also produces treats that are specifically designed to be low-friction and high-dopamine, which makes them highly habit forming if not addictive. Many people feel like they couldn't possibly get into cooking or sports or whatever but then spend hours a day on tiktok or watching TV and justify it as needing to wind down. Its not like leftists are immune to the allure of that stuff but it's worthwhile to strive for a more fulfilling life that is less reliant on capitalism and its treats. People aren't worse for liking the treats, or even for being addicted to them, but engaging in higher-friction hobbies isn't about depriving yourself, it's recognizing that there are more rewarding things to do in life than consoom treats.

    • StewartCopelandsDad [he/him]
      ·
      1 year ago

      People occasionally need to wind down with a movie or a book or whatever

      I don't. I used to wind down before bed with Lichess against the computer.

      Hobbies vary in how much community participation is necessary. Many competitive hobbies require you to keep up with the meta to have a chance. If you want to travel or garden you can just do that and not engage with the community. If you want to watch a TV show you'll get the most enjoyment out of it by discussing it with other people, irl or online. I think this is some element of how "pop culture" a hobby is. Probably need a definition to get any further.