Job Discussion Forums

[Roger]

Isn't a hobby dependent on lifestyles and thus, the social environment and national psyche or culture?
I think, hobbies were a typical English invention just like hiking was a German one ("wanderlust" discovered in the early 20th century as a counterpoint in people's daily lives to the routine of working).

We Westerners have hobbies that require some skills and specialisation; we do them both for recreation and for other reasons (sport as a function to steel one's personality and boost one's self-confidence).
Chinese, it would seem to me, need recreational activities to kill time. Few of them have initiative to start a project of their own, yet they too want to spend surplus energy. What they often do is play games (not passionately, but with a fierce determination to win bets).
Other sparetime activities include watching TV and singing in a karaoke lounge - a kind of socialising much like dining out together.
I think too that Westerners practise hobbies in order to overcome loneliness effectively, while Chinese avoid loneliness by socialising at meal times and by playing mahjiang.