The Death of Hobbies
We are severely entertained and overworked these days. Usually you are not bored, and if you are bored you are going on your phone to kill some time, and why wouldn't you? It's not inherently negative to watch some of those TikToks you always hear about in the news, no matter what your grandpa says (he probably goes on his phone more than you).
Nonetheless, the price of hours upon hours of delightful entertainment is that you do not need a hobby anymore to occupy your time. Think about it, when was the last time you made a coo-coo clock? This is true for any member of the general public but is especially true for you, a student.
Let's say you just submitted your last assignment to the ever so wonderful Lakehead portal. What do you do next? Do you pull out your scale model of the USS Midway or do you rest your brain and watch something on your phone? The answer is easy when you are tired and have used your brain all day. This becomes even more prevalent if you are a student living on your own with no support systems. You have to have a job (maybe three) and at that point many students are lucky if they can even make cooking a hobby, as these days, by the time one pays rent you still owe your landlord $1,500. However, even with all this adversity to overcome, the benefit of a tangible hobby cannot be overstated. Going on hikes or starting a book club can be a great way to manage the stress of work and school, especially if one has a bit of time they can afford to commit to such things.
Our own Lakehead University even has a plethora of clubs for you to join. Do you like robots? Well, the Artificial Intelligence And Robotics Innovators Association may be the place for you. Or maybe, you love gardening. Guess what? Lakehead offers the Gardening Club. These are just two of the many, many clubs you can join which I promise will enrich your life to no end (still waiting for a Magic the Gathering Club though LUSU). But I get it, many of us sadly are in the unfortunate position of having no time.
Now, is this an indictment of modern technology or a modern post secondary education system that promotes students sacrificing some aspect of their personality to secure their investment? I’ll let you decide, as I have a coo-coo clock to work on.