Hobbies of the New World: The Most Popular Hobbies Since 2020

Up until early 2020, very few people spent as much time at home as they had during the pandemic. Naturally, this has led to massive lifestyle changes and, for the first time in a long time, all but forgotten hobbies are beginning to get some much-needed attention. Some people have delved into old hobbies that they now have a bit more time to invest in, while others tried new things that they would not have otherwise under normal circumstances. As it turns out, the following few have been the most common and popular activities at home in recent times.

Gaming

Gaming was already a huge industry, but the growth in revenue seen in 2020 was unprecedented. To put that fact in better light, let’s make a quick year-on-year comparison.

Gaming Revenues Generated Globally in 2019 & 2020:

• 2019: US$145.7 billion (8% increase from 2018, gaining US$10.6 billion)

• 2020: US$159.3 billion+ (at least 9.3%, gaining a minimum of US$13.6 billion).

Recent estimates predict the global gaming industry to earn at least US$174.2 billion in revenue this year, confirming that gaming is going to be adopted by even more people in 2021.

Aside from being homebound, other factors are also responsible for the industry’s incredible rate of growth. Stats show that the most relevant of them all is the smartphone factor. Most of us now have access to a portable computer of considerable processing power to play games of any type, and from anywhere. For example, www.spincasino.com is one of the highest rated online casinos in New Zealand, and it runs just as smooth on a decent smartphone as it does on a laptop or desktop.

Gardening

Gardening is one of those ancient hobbies which never really went out of style or touch. However, people have had more than one reason to adopt gardening as a new/renewed hobby recently. As long as there is some space left for gardening in the yard, it can be turned into your personal oasis. In a time when travelling around too much is not quite safe, nothing can match up to the feeling of having your own little piece of nature to look at from the porch on a lazy evening.

Those that live in apartment buildings do not have the option unfortunately, but potted plants were still an option for them. As it turned out, apartment dwellers started to keep potted plants inside the apartment, as well as on the windowsills, and right outside their main door. Even the art of bonsai has gained popularity now in parts outside of Asia. None of these are new trends of course, but people’s renewed interest in them was a pleasant surprise.

Books

Just when the world was starting to believe that most people had lost all interest in books (electronic or paperback), 2020 revived people’s interest in books again. A combination of audio books and eBooks made writers popular again as people across the world found renewed interest in a form of entertainment that they were almost on the verge of forgetting.

There is little doubt about the fact that the last two years have been horrible for mankind in general. Despite the darkness, the renewed interest in hobbies just goes to show that, as human beings, we are still quite adaptable.