• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

When does a hobby become an obsession? Where do you draw the line?

Status
Not open for further replies.

Kraftwerk

Member
Was just having this discussion with a friend.

I'm smoking my pipe, and love doing so. He asked why I was lightning my pipe with matches, and not a lighter. I told him that I have been saving up for a pipe lighter, which I will be purchasing next month.

Friend "Why do you have to save up for a $2 lighter? o_0"

I told him how I have been eyeing a particular one which is around $250.

He called me crazy and said that I was "obsessed".

Now, I understand where he is coming from. But I have a principle of 'No Compromise'. Best way to explain it is that; I will always go for quality. Will wait patiently until I can afford it, instead of buying something cheaper.

I hope this posts does not make me seem like someone who has a lot of ego.

So gaf, where do you draw the line? Do you even have one?

I have a friend who collects anime figures worth hundreds of dollars. Another friend has a ridiculous collection of expensive knives. None of us are rich in any way...just enjoy doing these things and collecting them.

Just thought I'd share this and see what you guys think.
 

Alucrid

Banned
Smoking a pipe is a hobby?

That said I don't think buying an expensive lighter is you being "obsessed" or ridiculus.
 

Kraftwerk

Member
Smoking a pipe is a hobby?

That said I don't think buying an expensive lighter is you being "obsessed" or ridiculus.

To me it is. I also used it asan example for the topic. To some it's just smoking and they do it everyday, multiple times. I do it whenever I want to relax and have free time.
 

Ice 9

Banned
When you got body pillows.
melonpan-mai-room-otaku-heaven-1.jpg
 

Phenomic

Member
If it ruins your social relationships or makes you get a divorce. Also, if you quit or lose your job you've gone too far. Other wise, who cares how long you spend doing what you like doing if those two sectors aren't neglected.

Obviously this is simplified to an extent, but I think it gets the message across.

That and I guess as long as it doesn't harm you or others physically.
 

Dr Dogg

Member
Normally when my Mrs gives me looks or casually drops into conversation asking where all the money is going and why I have a lot of parcels being delivered.
 
Was just having this discussion with a friend.

I'm smoking my pipe, and love doing so. He asked why I was lightning my pipe with matches, and not a lighter. I told him that I have been saving up for a pipe lighter, which I will be purchasing next month.

Friend "Why do you have to save up for a $2 lighter? o_0"

I told him how I have been eyeing a particular one which is around $250.

He called me crazy and said that I was "obsessed".

Now, I understand where he is coming from. But I have a principle of 'No Compromise'. Best way to explain it is that; I will always go for quality. Will wait patiently until I can afford it, instead of buying something cheaper.

I hope this posts does not make me seem like someone who has a lot of ego.

So gaf, where do you draw the line? Do you even have one?

I have a friend who collects anime figures worth hundreds of dollars. Another friend has a ridiculous collection of expensive knives. None of us are rich in any way...just enjoy doing these things and collecting them.

Just thought I'd share this and see what you guys think.
DRYOv.gif


But I mean, if that's what you like then that's cool.

I think I tend to spend more practically and ask myself if the price balanced with it's usefullness. I'm just not a trinket or "stuff" person.

My only real obsession is video games and I've slowed my purchasing habits way down in order to catch up backlogs and work so I guess I'm not that obsessed.

I guess you're obsessed when it starts to neglect your day to day responibilities.
 

Zeppu

Member
As a Zippo aficionado I can totally understand you OP. There's a Titanium Zippo I've had my eye on for ages going for around that price.

It's nice to buy nice things. Some people buy video games. Some people buy iPhones. Some people buy watches. Buy whatever you want to buy.
 

xxracerxx

Don't worry, I'll vouch for them.
Link to said lighter.

I actually think it is cooler to light your pipe with stick matches, but that is just my preference.
 
- Smoking is not a hobby
- You are not obsessed
- It's sounds really stupid to buy a $250 lighter, but you should post a link to see if it's really worth it

Your 'No Compromise' mentality is really convoluted. Just because something is more expensive doesn't mean its better quality. There's always something more expensive and we are talking about a fucking lighter. The $2 probably will light your pipe just as fine, where do you perceive the quality in a $250 lighter? How it lights your pipe better?
 
Smoking my hookah is a hobby.
Been so for 17 years.

Well now I can admit its an addiction, I get cranky and jittery. I can barley finish my day at work. I ignore my GF sometimes.......I am flawed, but there is something about me that keeps everything together.

I don't care if it wipes 10 years of my life. I really enjoy playing games and watching movies while smoking.

I just don't care.
 

Akuun

Looking for meaning in GAF
I think it's okay as long as your hobby is not having a debilitating effect on more vital parts of your life. People spend $250 or more on all sorts of things they're into, whether they be computer parts, cameras, anime figures, movie discs, car parts, model airplanes, etc.

As long as your hobby does not lead to you avoiding your friends, going broke, ignoring all other pasttimes or losing touch with reality, I think it's okay.
 

xxracerxx

Don't worry, I'll vouch for them.
Wouldn't that taste of sulfur, though? I guess you would just wait until all of the sulfur is burned off, as lighter fluid wouldn't taste great either.

Yeah, you just wait a few seconds until it reaches the wood itself.

Smoking my hookah is a hobby.
Been so for 17 years.

Well now I can admit its an addiction, I get cranky and jittery. I can barley finish my day at work. I ignore my GF sometimes.......I am flawed, but there is something about me that keeps everything together.

I don't care if it wipes 10 years of my life. I really enjoy playing games and watching movies while smoking.

I just don't care.

Oh man, smoking indoors is one of those things that I just think is fucking insane. The smoke/smell gets into everything and seems to permeate forever. Plus I just feel gross inside if there is smoking going on.
 
I'll come at this from a different angle. My hobby is running and that's starting to turn into an obsession. I can see it happening and I don't know why I can't stop it.

I have been a runner for over 10 years but only in the last year started to track it. Long story short, I set a goal to run at least 200 miles this month (which I have done before so it's not actually that huge a deal). But due to weather and other factors, I've had to miss a few days I didn't plan to. Right now I'm only at 157 miles and I've got 5 days left. What's the difference if I only hit 190 miles and not 200? Nothing, except I won't let myself do it.

The other morning my alarm went off at 5:30am. It was 10 degrees outside. As I was getting suited up, I was really pissed off about the whole thing, wondering just what the hell am I doing? I was pissed and tired during the whole 10 miles. After running a ton in December and now setting this stupid goal for January, I am worn out and not enjoying it.

Each time when I increase what my "normal" run is, then any distance less than that, I consider a failure. So for instance, 6 months ago my normal run was about 7 miles. Now if I "only" run 7 miles one day, I consider it a failure. I don't even know why I'm doing this, it's not like I'm training for the freaking Olympics. I'm not even that great a runner! And other hobbies I actually enjoy are suffering. I play less video games and read less because I'm so exhausted at night. I go to bed at 10 just so I can get up at 5:30 and do it again.

But I know my obsession will make me hit 200 next week, and then it's stupid because nothing will happen. The next day will be February 1 and in the back of my mind I'm already thinking 210 miles or whatever.

It makes me short-tempered some nights, and my wife and daughter can tell. I'll be in a bad mood because I know I gotta get up early the next morning, and I'm already tired. So I just get cranky.
 

Alchemy

Member
Depends on how constructive the hobby is. If you're obsession leads to you becoming a critic or producer in that space, go fucking crazy. We need more people completely devoted to a single thing to the point they become undeniably awesome at it. The only trick is making the turn from consumer to producer/critic.
 

tokkun

Member
I think the defining factor is when the sacrifice you make to sustain the hobby (or a particular aspect of it) outweighs the reward.

Fleet_of_Foot gave a very good example of this, and I'm sure many people on NeoGAF can relate when it comes to obtaining trophies or achievements in video games. Take a game like FFXIII, where several of my friends put in an extra 20 hours of grinding to achieve the platinum trophy in that game - a very arduous task that yields an extremely fleeting reward.
 

Kozak

Banned
Im guessing the pipe lighter removes the issue of the taste of lighter fluid?

Anyway my hobby is poker. Online and offline. Feel it keeps me mentally sharp and pub poker is a pretty good social activity.
 

cloudwalking

300chf ain't shit to me
I feel you OP...

My husband and I are tea enthusiasts. The subject of tea came up at work yesterday and we were telling a coworker about our hobby. He was pretty clueless about it but was interested. At one point we started talking about oolong and I mentioned how I'd bought 100 grams of oolong for 32 Swiss francs ($34 US) as a treat.

This dude literally flipped out, like shitting bricks. I was like wtf? He seriously couldn't understand why someone would pay so much for tea. Even after we told him that it was rare and besides there are teas that cost way, WAY more, he just couldn't fathom it. We explained that to enthusiasts these kind of things have real worth, like collectors, etc. Dude must either be cheap as fuck or have no hobbies cause he was just sitting there laughing incredulously. SMH
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom