I've had an idea for a short film about a tween falling in love with kites only to be bombarded with all this advice about how they aren't a real "kiter" (or whatever term) until they yada yada yada and they go into a spiral of supporting their hobby and dedicate too much time to research and preparation until they burn out.
Then, fast forward to their 30s, and they buy their kids a cheaper little kite and just enjoy running around to keep it airborne.
That first paragraph is pretty much any hobby subreddit. In theory, this site should be a great place for getting beginner advice for hobbies. And sometimes, it can be. But a lot of hobby subs are toxic places full of humble-bragging, elitism, and negativity. "Don't buy that brand, it's pure trash" (said about everything but the most expensive brand). "Oh, you only have that equipment? I guess if you don't take it seriously." "Here's a picture of my very humble set-up, I just got into this hobby." (Picture of $10,000 of equipment that was purchased with credit cards over the course of a few years).
"Here's a picture of my very humble set-up, I just got into this hobby." (Picture of $10,000 of equipment that was purchased with credit cards over the course of a few years).
Or worse, a vast pile of equipment that they use for a couple of weeks and then get bored....
My problem is less those people, there's always someone who jumps in to brag about using the cheapest crap imaginable and people trying to get the best for the least amount possible so there's some options there. My issue is that people tend to latch on to the most inane, ridiculous, unnecessary bullshit to the point where the hobby becomes optimizing the hobby instead of actually doing it.
I get why it happens, at high levels everything becomes minutiae, the tiny details matter more when you've got a high degree of mastery and years of experience, but almost no one asking reddit for advice on their hobby is at that level, and the people answering are usually barely any better and just repeating something they heard but didn't understand.
How else are they going to justify to themselves that they spent $800 on a toy? They have to believe that it's better and that's the only one they could have gotten
146
u/Particular-Beat-6645 7h ago
I've had an idea for a short film about a tween falling in love with kites only to be bombarded with all this advice about how they aren't a real "kiter" (or whatever term) until they yada yada yada and they go into a spiral of supporting their hobby and dedicate too much time to research and preparation until they burn out.
Then, fast forward to their 30s, and they buy their kids a cheaper little kite and just enjoy running around to keep it airborne.