Being really into TV or film, dissecting video game plotlines, and choosing to pick up fanfiction over a traditional paperback are things that I would say are traditionally considered “loser behaviour.”Â
Other examples of these “loser” behaviours would include cosplaying or LARP’ing (live-action role-playing). One can even consider intense interest in learning a language to be a bit unusual.Â
Nonetheless, these are all things I have done and still actively take part in.
Having hobbies or interests that some may consider unusual or seem quite unheard of is not that weird. If we take one of my favourite hobbies — playing Dungeons and Dragons (D&D), for instance — we’ll see that there’s been a sudden rise in people playing the game over the last decade.
This is in large part due to the Netflix series Stranger Things using D&D as a means to storytell. You can see this mostly in their villains, which are named after D&D antagonists, such as Vecna, The Mind Flayer, and the Demogorgon, all being real baddies in the game.
The creators of Stranger Things, Matt and Ross Duffer, were initially influenced by the card game Magic: The Gathering, but since it was created after the time Stranger Things is set, D&D inspired them.
However, Stranger Things is not the only reason for D&D’s rise in popularity; YouTube and Twitch shows such as Critical Role (my personal favourite) and Dimension 20 are also contributing to this phenomenon.Â
With a diverse cast of characters and an enticing DM (dungeon master), these are all allowing people such as myself and my friends to get into playing D&D, and I’m in the midst of a campaign currently!Â
Hobbies such as fanfiction reading, which is seen as highly controversial due to how most popular fanfictions have some “cringey” elements (see Twilight, After and Fifty Shades of Grey, all of which are fanfictions for My Chemical Romance, One Direction, and Twilight, respectively).
While most fanfictions revolve around romantic relationships between characters, there are just as many, if not more, platonic or general fanfictions based on characters you wouldn’t expect! The Batman/Batfamily fandom has far more platonic fics revolving around Bruce Wayne’s relationship with the several Robins he has throughout his life (there is more than one, I know, crazy.)Â
Fanfiction has been around roughly since the late 1800s and early 1900s, with works such as Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead being considered some of the first fanfictions.
Fanfic’s first real boom into the zeitgeist was around the 1960s when Star Trek first appeared, with many fans publishing their works about the lead characters James T. Kirk and Spock. Writing a variety of both ship fics and non into zines to be passed around and read by friends and fans alike. Nowadays, websites like Tumblr, Archive of Our Own (ao3) and Wattpad remain king for people’s fanfiction kicks.
Outside fandoms and nerdy-based hobbies, things such as colouring, language learning, and even knitting and crochet have seen a large uptick in popularity. This is due to their benefits in both enriching and stimulating the mind, as well as assisting in mental health, with colouring seen as a big distraction when it comes to anxiety disorders.Â
Colouring books and crochet tutorials have become massive online, with many wanting to pick up a productive hobby that they can share with their friends and family or even create clothes for themselves.Â
In short, whether your hobbies are fanfic reading/writing, tabletop role-playing, knitting, or dissecting song lyrics, embrace it! It speaks to your creativity, your willingness to learn and your desire to gain comfort and knowledge in something outside of a social circle. It allows you to have something to look forward to after a long day in class, a hard shift at work, or needing a quick enrichment activity before bed!