Definitely agree that pressure can come online or IRL but I don’t think it’s purely just people. There are many cultures, societies, communities, or heck just small friend groups where there is zero pressure to monetize. Eg I’ve been part of book clubs and movie clubs where we just talk about entertainment and art and never think of turning it into a podcast or YouTube series.

> I’ve been part of book clubs and movie clubs

Such hobbies are probably the hardest to monetize, short of doing paid reviews. So I'm not too surprised that clubs built around that are low pressure when compared to hobbies that produce physical artifacts.

Yah on the one hand people are probably more willing to hand over money if they get something tangible/physical in return. That said, if you find the right niche, pure bits are easier to scale. Almost 0 marginal cost to adding more podcast viewers but building (and shipping!) wooden furniture doesn’t scale the same way. ;)

Totally. My wife started baking as a hobby and almost everyone she spoke to said variations of "you could make a packet selling these".

So I made her website and she tried making a business out of it, ruined the hobby for her forever.

The best way to ruin a good hobby is to try to go pro. Sometimes I feel that way about coding.

And likewise I would say that the best way to ruin a passion is to call it a hobby.

People want to get out of the rate race because they understand that they are trading their valuable and unique time on earth to perpetuate a rather unsatisfying and miserable existence.

I think you may be projecting a bit. Nobody was categorizing all passions as hobbies and please go get a real job, etc. etc. Apologies if I misread that, but that’s how I understand your reply.

Regardless a lot of hobbies bring us joy as they’re free from the often brutal realities of our financial system and incentives. Once you cross that line it changes the perception of that interest for a lot of folks.

“Going pro” is my hobby. I find it very enjoyable to do the math on what it takes to break even and then profit, how likely that is, and how it compares to other activities.

In the end nothing really compares to just doing my regular job in tech but it’s fun to dream of making a huge profit selling home made sauces or whatever.