Free time, this unknown: an eternal race against the clock, from Monday to Friday, close to a bulimic agenda of commitments. Those who have it become a tightrope walker, at the mercy of the oscillating judgment of the people: branded as a time wasters, admired as privileged, in both cases envied. In the era of the ban on time wasting, even having a hobby is a serious thing: it must be rewarding, interesting to tell friends, but above all instagrammable. A destiny that no one escapes, Gen Z and Millennial in the first place: where do they find the desire to dedicate themselves to a hobby?!
Visualizza questo post su Instagram
Just social, waste of time par excellence, turns out to be an inexhaustible mine of hobbies: already in 2022, a survey conducted by Samsung in the United Kingdom emphasized that 72% of the sample analyzed (18-25 years) had been stimulated to start a new hobby thanks to social content.
In fact: how many reels are saved in their TikTok and Instagram profiles in the mental folder of "this will be my hobby of the coming months"?
An inexhaustible mine and, one might add, that is "self-feeding": if 74% of the sample said that receiving approval for their posted hobbies makes them happy, it is inevitable that they collaborate to make some hobbies become real trends.
But then: Gen Z and Millennials, what do they do in their free time? Let’s think about the much hated labels.
Visualizza questo post su Instagram
The sportsman
If you don’t take a course in the gym you’re out. Is padel already on the way to sunset?
Everyone’s good at squatting in the gym now. If before the evening course of the personal trainer was avoided like the plague, today it became the object of desire. More technical, concentrated in less than an hour and with few participants is, all the better. Instagram is now saturated with crossfitters; it’s time for slimmer and more sculpted physicists than those who practice calisthenics, free-body discipline based on balance and elasticity, pole dancing or circus activities. If you want to add a bit of emotion to the elasticity, puppy yoga is the answer: apparently Adho Mukha Svanasana, the "downward facing dog" yoga pose, made with a labrador of a few months that wags its tail in your face has some benefits.
Where did the padel go? After the blooming of fields in every neighborhood, it seems to have stewed: everyone practices it, and then the victories of Sinner have made tennis come back into vogue. Soon we will forget about both, because between the two racquet sports a hybrid is making its way: the pickleball.
Visualizza questo post su Instagram
The nerd
Loving video games is no longer a problem
Playing is an adult thing, doing it is no longer a cause for shame nor a symptom of Peter Pan syndrome. Playing video games is now a legitimized practice, which is part of the daily life of Gen Z as that of Millennials. Dedicating an hour of your day to a console, in many cases it also means socializing: to be the master in the gaming market is online multiplayer (Fifa, Fortnite, League of Legends, Call of Duty, to name the most famous), which also allows you to cultivate or create new interpersonal relationships.
This world is flanked by the most classic experience of the board game, in the broadest sense: from collectible card games such as Magic The Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh! and Pokémon, up to role-playing, more or less immersive. Undisputed king of the industry is Dungeons & Dragons, a fantasy RPG born in the Seventies and also returned to prominence among the GenZ after the success of Stranger Things (you know the game sessions of Will, Dustin, Michael and Lucas?).
Visualizza questo post su Instagram
The creative-intellectual
Recognizing a Pinot Grigio or painting in oil is no longer enough
Apparently there are passions that bloom at the arrival of 30 years: suddenly you want to discover every secret of Franciacorta, write a new page of art with their conceptual paintings, reinterpret Sei personaggi in cerca d'autore in a modern key that "Pirandello spostati". Sommellerie, painting, theater: evergreen hobbies certainly, but they are giving way to new activities.
Manual skill seems to prevail in the choices of how to engage leisure time: there are those who want to get their hands dirty with clay to shape vases and bowls, who try to create jewelry made of metal or recycled materials. Or those who follow online make up or crocheting courses, because say "do crochet" can’t be summed up in a hashtag.
Visualizza questo post su Instagram
To each his own!
Illustration by Gloria Dozio - Acrimònia Studios
.jpg)