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Comment by fullshark | Hacker News Reader

Almost all of the things you listed as acceptable hobbies are looked down upon at least in my social circle and I'd argue in general. Reality TV is a guilty pleasure even among fans, gambling and drinking are clearly vices, fantasy sports can involve gambling and even if it doesn't it's seen as a pretty nerdy thing to be into.

The only hobbies that aren't looked down upon are things that involve creation instead of consumption or are major class signifiers really (Opera, skiing, etc).

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So your social circle looks down on all forms of entertainment unless you are creating something of value? That is definitely not the case for society at large (and sounds pretty miserable to me personally).

That's a bit reductive and I don't agree with the characterization so maybe I overstated my point. Point is in general I find even purely consumption based entertainment hobbies are usually framed in a way that it's constructive (e.g. prestige TV and how it shapes your world view, consuming fine arts that heal the soul and inform, etc) in conversation when trying to impress.

No, but looking down on gambling is definitely common. And that was mentioned in the parent comment

> The only hobbies that aren't looked down upon are things that involve creation instead of consumption or are major class signifiers really (Opera, skiing, etc).

This does not sound like what people think in general in the US. This sounds like you live in a social circle and assume their opinions as general opinion.

Welcome to the effects of class socialization. You appear to have about the mix of Fussellian Middle and Upper-Middle preferences and attitudes (plus a bit from his Class X[1]) that's essentially standard on HN.

[1] Which, unfortunately for his hopes, turned out to just be a fashion wave in the Upper-Middle and was eventually, partially, incorporated into it—I dunno if he just let optimism get the better of him, or truly didn't recognize totally normal Bohemianism when he saw it.

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