“To be really happy and really safe, one ought to have at least two or three hobbies, and they must all be real.”
-Winston Churchill
A hobby is a gift you give yourself. In years past, most people enjoyed hobbies of some kind. As kids, we all had hobbies. We built model airplanes and cars, collected stamps and coins and baseball cards. Our parents, busy as they were, had hobbies as well. They enjoyed painting, gardening, and photography. They read real books, played cards and musical instruments, and donned matching outfits to go square dancing (seeing dad dressed as Slim Whitman had to be traumatic for some kids). My dad was a master woodcarver and enjoyed nothing more than time at his workbench with a knife and carving tools. Today, life seems different. I recently read an article lamenting this change in our culture. It seems that many humans today have replaced healthy organic hobbies with the digital hobby of doomscrolling. Their only hobby is scrolling on their phones, and this is not good for our brains.
It has been reported that the average person spends seven hours a day staring at screens. Consuming that much rapid and fragmented content (TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube, and more) steals your time and life, shortens your attention span, and literally re-wires your brain. Most folks reach for their phones like chain-smokers fumbling for another cigarette when bored. The internet, and especially demonic social media, has conditioned the world to crave quick dopamine hits. Our phones are like digital crack pipes demanding our full attention. This constant consumption leaves our brains overwhelmed and hyper- stimulated, and they begin to re-wire themselves.
In the brain we have receptors that receive signals when dopamine is released. Social media and online consumption cause a flood of dopamine in our brains, and this results in maximum stimulation on those receptors. To restore balance, our brain begins to down regulate these receptors, and they become less sensitive to dopamine. Over time, the same stimulation doesn’t give you the same feeling of reward. Your brain is essentially re-setting how enjoyment and rewards feel. So, when you do real-life things like reading a book, or going for a walk, dopamine release is minimal and these activities are not rewarding or enjoyable. In extreme cases this can result in digital anhedonia, the reduced ability to find any enjoyment in real-world and everyday experiences. Prolonged digital saturation and stimulation essentially rots your brain. Maybe this is why much of the world seems to be going crazy. But the good news is that your brain can re-set and heal itself, and old-fashioned hobbies can help in this process.
A 2023 meta-analysis found a direct association between hobbies and mental well-being. Researchers discovered that humans with one or more hobbies exhibited fewer depressive symptoms, and had higher levels of self-reported health, happiness, and life satisfaction. And it is believed that some types of hobbies, like playing an instrument or creating art, can increase the volume of your brain, fostering memory and reducing the chances of developing dementia. Hobbies can help re-train our brains to focus and enjoy life in the real world.
Engaging in an enjoyable hobby will trigger a dopamine release, just like scrolling on your phone, but it is a slow dopamine release. You get a slow burn of happiness from your hobby activity, along with an added dose of the feel-good chemical serotonin. Hobbies offer something similar to a healthy whole foods meal as compared to online screen hyper-stimulation which is more like junk food that tastes good while at the same time destroying your health.
If you are in the mood for some brain-healing, mind settling, real-world satisfaction, consider finding a hobby (if you don’t already have one or two). Start by considering what you might enjoy, or what you’ve always wanted to try. It is okay to try many things. Experiment with different options.
Hobbies can be loosely categorized into various categories. There are creative hobbies like art (painting, drawing, photography), music, cooking, gardening, and writing. Many prefer outdoor and active hobbies like hunting, fishing, running, hiking, biking, and dance. Intellectual hobbies like reading, learning, and traveling are especially helpful in healing your brain. Hobbies can also include social activities like joining clubs, taking classes, and hosting friendly gatherings.
Hobbies can foster a deeper meaning, purpose, and flow in your life, something the ancient Greeks called eudaimonia. This Aristotelian philosophy can be translated as “human flourishing and enjoyment.”
Consider cultivating a creative and mindful hobby to counteract the screen tension and stress that we live with in this modern world. A sound hobby will reduce your stress and help heal and settle your mind as you pursue the trajectory of a happy life. Be happy – find a hobby!
© 2026 Jody Dyer
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