Ah, trivia. It’s a humble activity that has brought many a nerd countless hours of solitary fun. Trivia’s also an excellent social activity for those of us who like to get out of our houses every now and again. But have you ever asked yourself whether or not trivia was a hobby?
We at Trivia Bliss are here to tell you that, if there was ever any doubt, yes, trivia is most certainly a hobby. Trivia unequivocally meets the criteria for what makes a hobby a hobby, and it can be great if you’re looking to pick up something new.
We’ll get into the reasons why we believe trivia is a hobby below. Keep scrolling to learn all we’ve got to tell you about trivia’s existence as a hobby.
What Counts as a Hobby Anyway?
When you think of hobbies, what sort of activities come to mind? For you, a hobby is a crafty, sit-down activity, like knitting, sewing, or scrapbooking. Cooking a new, exciting recipe and repotting beloved plants could also qualify as hobbies, as could collecting stamps or rare coins. Maybe artmaking—drawing, painting with acrylics, mosaic-making—is your hobby. Some people count reading, traveling, ice skating, or camping as their hobbies. Archery, antiquing, pickleball, party-hosting—all these qualify as hobbies, too.
But what do all these activities have in common? And what exactly makes a hobby a hobby?
Let’s consult the dictionary. Trusty Merriam-Webster defines the word “hobby” as a noun meaning “a pursuit outside one’s regular occupation engaged in especially for relaxation.” The Cambridge Dictionary defines a hobby as “an activity that someone does for pleasure when they are not working.” And Dictionary.com opts for the definition of “an activity or interest pursued for pleasure or relaxation and not as a main occupation.”
Synonyms for the word “hobby” include pastime, diversion, recreation, and specialty. We’re getting the picture here: a hobby is something that’s done for fun outside of one’s professional life. It’s done solely for one’s own enjoyment.
The United States Internal Revenue Service has the following to say about what makes a hobby a hobby:
A hobby is any activity that a person pursues because they enjoy it and with no intention of making a profit. People operate a business with the intention of making a profit. Many people engage in hobby activities that turn into a source of income.
We’ll take their word for it! This definition from the IRS backs up the three aforementioned dictionary definitions of “hobby” while expanding upon them.
To sum all that up, a hobby is defined as an activity pursued for pleasure outside of the realm of work.
Why Trivia Is a Hobby
Now that we properly know what constitutes a hobby, let’s clear up exactly why trivia counts as one. Keep scrolling to read our justification for why trivia most definitely qualifies as a hobby.
It’s Not a Job (Usually)
First things first—trivia is not a job. It is an activity that is seldom pursued professionally.
If you aren’t familiar with how our capitalistic society works (ha, ha), unless you’re obscenely wealthy, you must work to make money to survive. Trivia isn’t exactly considered to be a vital pillar of our society (though perhaps it should be!), and thus it’s not a terribly profitable or sought-after industry—people don’t make it their line of work. Therefore, most people enjoy trivia outside of the workplace, and those who do participate in workplace trivia are not engaging with it as a professional trivia-doer.
Not many people work in trivia, but there are some (very) rare exceptions to this rule. For example, if you write questions or work to compile trivia facts for a quiz show (think Jeopardy! or Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?), then, obviously, you’re pursuing trivia as an occupation. Hosts of trivia game shows or emcees at local pub trivia nights are also making their occupations trivia-centric, and the same thing goes for authors of trivia books or games.
However, many trivia authors and emcees are pursuing trivia as a side gig. They often also work a main job from which they can make a living (see above—trivia isn’t considered a particularly lucrative vocation).
So, if trivia is someone’s side gig, does it still count as a hobby? According to Merriam-Webster and Dictionary.com’s definitions of “hobby,” trivia seems to still fit under this umbrella. This is because both dictionaries cite a principal occupation being different from a hobby, but neither dictionary makes a distinction for a secondary occupation.
However, per the IRS definition of trivia we listed above, neither main jobs nor side gigs count as hobbies. So long as any profit is turned by someone’s trivia work, it counts as a job—not a hobby.
We’re getting awfully technical here, so those who do not pursue trivia as a job are enjoying it as a hobby. This statement covers most of the folks who engage with trivia because trivia is almost always done for fun. (That’s not to say that people with trivia-based jobs aren’t having fun too, but no matter how fun it may be, working to do something you love is still exactly that—working.)
That said, trivia is usually played by people without serious training or regular pay who do it for fun instead of work. That makes trivia not a job, bringing us one step closer to fully meeting the definition of “hobby.”
It’s Sought Out for Fun
Because trivia isn’t (usually) a job, and our society defines time as split into labor and leisure (with little wiggle room between the two), it counts as leisure. People who engage with trivia are doing so because they find it fun.
Let’s consult the definitions above, shall we? As cited by the dictionaries we mentioned, the pleasurable and relaxing elements of hobbies surely fall into the category of leisure. Most folks don’t seek out trivia as something that is unpleasurable or unenjoyable for them; instead, they’re playing trivia because they derive some enjoyment from it.
We particularly like the distinction made by Dictionary.com and the Cambridge Dictionary that hobbies are not always pursued for relaxation and instead are sometimes only sought out for pleasure. After all, trivia games aren’t always relaxing—they can get pretty intense pretty darn quickly!
Indeed, trivia can sometimes be stressful. For example, if you are an especially competitive person or if you appear on a high-stakes trivia game show, it might bring you some discomfort in the moment. However, that doesn’t change the fact that part of you must like trivia despite this for you to have continued to seek it out even with the occasional negative feelings it can induce! These trivial pursuits (see what we did there?) still count as pleasure-based because they aren’t being done on the clock and are instead being relished during one’s precious free time.
In summary, trivia is something that is done for fun, not sought out because of an obligation. That sounds like hobby material to us!
Final Words
Thanks for reading through our list of reasons and justifications for why trivia is a hobby. Because trivia is sought out for pleasure and not for moneymaking, it qualifies as a hobby—and a great one. If you’re looking for a new hobby, trivia can be just the thing you need to take your mind off of the mundanities and stresses of normal life and bring you some joy and delight in the personal realm.
Want to learn more about trivia? Trivia Bliss has got all of the resources you need to turn you into a trivia expert. We’ve got a boatload of blog articles from how to plan your very own trivia night to the latest in Jeopardy! news. If you’ve ever wondered which trivia game is your best bet for a fun road trip play, here’s an article. Got questions about how the popular trivia app Trivia Crack works? We’ve got a bevy of blog posts to clear those up for you here.
And if you’re looking to expand your repertoire of trivia, look no further than Trivia Bliss’s enormous trivia database. Not only is it easily accessible and stocked with thousands upon thousands of trivia questions, it’s also free! There’s no reason why you shouldn’t check out our trivia database (unless, of course, you don’t like trivia—in which case, why are you here?).
Check out our themed quiz archive to learn more about an array of tempting topics, like our fair-weather fish friends, the musical genre of hip-hop, or the grooviest decade of all. You’ll be surprised just how much you can learn from these comprehensive quiz challenges!
We’ve also got a random trivia quiz generator that creates printable PDFs made up of a melee of questions from our database. If you’re looking to pick up trivia as a hobby or if it’s already you’re hobby of choice, this is the perfect tool to help boost your memory and increase your knowledge.
Do you believe that trivia is a hobby? Why or why not? Let us know in the comments below—we want to hear your thoughts!
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