Technology is a Hobby
I’m a tech geek. Web design is a hobby (and as a career soon, hopefully), I read Wired, I have 3 computers in my 2 bedroom apartment, I am the go-to person when a PC breaks in the family, I blog for God sake!
I reiterate, I am a tech geek… and as I see it, it is my hobby.
Now, with normal hobbies you actually get out and do things. For instance, I used to build model rockets when I was younger, so I had a little “workshop” set up in the basement, and when I was down there my parents knew I was working on a new model or a piece of electronics, and left me alone to do my thing. It was great! Who likes being interrupted when they’re working on their hobby crafts, anyway?
Well these days I’m much more interested in technology, though I do have other hobbies. As everyone knows the best resource for Tech news is the internet, so I will sit at my PC and read about Ajax or CSS tricks, play with Photoshop, hack my cellphone, or design a website just for the hell of it; it’s fun, and I find it interesting.
The problem is that those are are interested in Tech will sit at their PC (or Mac) and indulge themselves, but the majority of the population just sees us as sitting at our computers farting around. I agree that there’s a very fuzzy line between sitting at the PC screwing around and doing actual hobby-related work (ie. researching, coding and designing), and honestly I wouldn’t want to be the one to draw the line that separates the two. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m guilty of crossing the line while working on a project; I’ll check my email, chat on IRC, and read news all while designing a website, but that’s just multi-tasking! ;)
My beef is that if I’m sitting at my PC, people are much more likely to come to me to ask me a question, or ask me to do something for them, while I’m in the middle of something I feel important, but because it’s on the computer, they may not feel the same way.
For example, I’m a DJ and if I’m in the middle of mixing records people know better than to walk up to me and try to call my attention away from what I’m doing, but if I’m on my PC it looks like I’m just screwing around, so they have no qualms walking up to me, expecting me to drop whatever it is I’m doing. This has been true for as long as I’ve been into technology. My parents, my non-geek friends, and countless others are all guilty of this, though I should mention that I do give props to my girlfriend Rachel. She understands my obsession, and will (usually) allow me indulge myself .
I wish more people would understand that just because you’re sitting on your PC doesn’t mean you can just walk away whenever from what you’re doing… it’s just the same as any other hobby, just a little more anti-social than others.
