“You have too much free time”
Thursday, March 12th, 2009How many times have we heard the phrase, “You have too much free time?” Usually it’s said by someone who is making it fully evident that they are dubious of the merit of the activity in which time was used.
I think what they are really saying is, “I find it hard to believe that you would actually prioritize this activity high enough to deign to spend even your spare time to engage in it.” Because really, we all have a decent amount of spare time. Some definitely more than others, but the average person has a fair allocation of it. Some have it in bigger chunks, some have it more spread out. But it’s there.
This saying irks me, because it seems to me to be saying, in effect, that they hold your selected activity in such low regard that to even spend recreational time on it is a waste. And that it may well be. But we are not the same, you and I. And one man’s garbage is truly another man’s treasure.
We have a virtually limitless assortment of quick videos (Yatta, All Your Base), countless images, lolcats, entire websites devoted to WTF humor, and websites cataloging WTF websites. And that’s just internet stuff.
I don’t think that one activity (hitting a white ball with a stick to try to get it in a hole) is necessarily worth more (or less) than another (making a stupid video and putting it online).
Basically, there’s a whole lotta ways that people choose to spend their recreational time on; that people feel is an enjoyable use of their time. Recreation doesn’t have to be an end to something productive, doesn’t have to necessarily enrich those around you or make the world a better place. So much the better if it does, but that’s not mandatory in my book.
So, ultimately, I feel that most of the people who supposedly have too much of this so-called “free time” are really just electing to use their time in a fashion that many people would not choose to.