Earlier this month my partner asked me something along the lines of: "What subconscious behaviors or impulses of yours do you think come from being raised under capitalism? And are you trying to combat any of them?"
It sparked a really interesting conversation about both our consumerist tendences and also a topic I've talked about before: commodities as hobbies. Here's the extended thoughts on that part specifically..
The question we tried to answer for the longest time was: "Where had we both learned or acquired the impulse to always seek the 'best version' of a product whenever we are attempting to get into a new hobby?". Both of us are the type of people who will scour Reddit threads for hours to make sure we're buying the right thing, the best version of a product, etc.
Currently, she's looking at saving up $1000 for a camera and lens for portrait photography. Fujifilm is going through a tiktok-fueled craze so those are sold out or expensive AF, but she's landed on some Sony camera that's not too crazy. Three weeks ago, I went through the same process for getting into BBQ - smoking specifically. If you ask Reddit "experts", smoking properly starts with a $600+ pellet grill or dedicated charcoal smoker. I will give redditors credit, many recommend finding them used, but the point stands.
I almost went that route, but I realized... why? I didn't even know if I enjoy smoking meats. Why would I drop that much money on something I may completely stop doing in a year? In 6 months, even? I didn't even go as cheap as possible, since I bought my Weber Kettle Premium brand new with accessories. It still cost me a good chunk of money!
Now obviously part of the impulse of researching before you buy is about buying something worth the asking price. Making sure others have had good experiences and that it's not some useless Amazon drop-shipped bullshit. But...
The more we discussed it, the more I realized that in the last maybe 2 years I've started to develop a contrarian sense of pride in doing things the "hard way". By "the hard way" I really just mean 'without having the peak optimal equipment and knowledge'. Learning if I even like a thing first by just... trying and struggling.
Looking back, that's honestly how I got into some of my favorite and most consistent hobbies or interests.
Cooking
- Started in college because my mom told me it was not in the cards for her to pay all my bills AND for me to order out every day. She had me watch her in the kitchen, gave me one pan, one old pot, some utensilts, and an oven tray, and sent me off. Now cooking is my favorite activity. I have - over like 8 years now - slowly bought myself fancy equipment like expensive knives, pans, a sous vide, a nice blender, etc.
Coffee
- Started drinking it in late high school. Starbucks frappucinos, a sugary treat. Then a friend introduced me to black coffee and would bring it to school. I'd then make instant coffee at home, then in a drip coffee maker. The same friend bought me a $30 manual burr coffee grinder and my mom got me this weird thermos+french press contraption. I'm now a coffee snob, I guess, and I own a fairly nice espresso machine. But I started with tap water, an electric kettle, pre-ground coffee from the eating hall, and that french press mug in my college dorm.
If I rack my brain more, there's a few hobbies that I did splurge on and frankly just never got fully sucked into.
Mechanical Keyboards
- I have two, my newest one cost me more than I'd like to admit, and I waited over 2 years for the keycaps, but I haven't felt the need to upgrade it at all since I got it. I don't even browse the forums or watch YT videos for the topic anymore.
Video Editing
- This one I want to pick back up but after using Davinci Resolve (free) for 2 years to edit some fun gaming clips, I bought the Studio version and literally have not published a video since...
So my conversation with my partner concluded with the following consensus:
- Being raised under capitalism has subconsciously taught us that some activities are undoable without the "right" equipment.
- The "right" equipment is usually recommended by online "experts" whose primary goal is flexing their expertise and not really getting a layperson into a true bare-minimum entry level version of the activity.
- A lot of "hobbies" are just euphemisms for impulsive chasing-the-dragon type collectible items
Maybe one possible route of unlearning this impulse is to try new things purposefully with 'sub-par' equipment.
Now I hear you, 'you don't need running shoes to start running but they help'. I get that, I'm not saying build your own fucking grill, or use refuse from the junkyard.
I just think with the times we are facing - increased costs, waste, and climate catastrophe- isn't it better and less wasteful to reach the ceiling of the equipment you have and upgrading once there's a feature you will truly get the most out of, than to pay for belts and whistles you will never actually need if you stay at an entry-level?
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Thoughts? Send me an email!
kagumail.uselessly535@passinbox.com
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