By Anne Wall | Reporter
College students may feel like their free time is scarce, there are simply not enough hours in a day or maybe they feel worse after they end up using their free time wrong.
For college students, the biggest threat to well used free time is the excessive use of screens. The best counterattack to this pattern is picking up a hobby that fulfills the craving instead of a temporary fix.
Plato’s cave allegory describes a group of prisoners who have never seen the outside world or the sun. Their only source of light is a fire in the cave and the only things they see are the shadows that the fire projects onto the wall. One man escapes and sees the real world, but when he returns to the cave to free the others he is rebuked and called a liar.
In the context of college life, that cave is your phone. In a 2023 survey revealed that over 80% of students wanted colleges and universities to encourage and support breaks from technology. By pursuing hobbies on your time to do what you enjoy you take the first step in unplugging from your phone.
Five different kinds of hobbies are your ticket out of the scrolling cycle.
Physical
Moving your body after class and time spent studying helps to relieve stress and has many benefits to your overall health. For college students this can be going on walks, frequenting the gym or participating in sports.
Creative
Your second hobby gives you something to do without needing to check the rubric or meet someone else’s criteria. This could be a way to create something for yourself and no one else. This might something as easy as baking, cooking, painting or playing an instrument.
Intellectual
The goal of intellectual hobbies is to keep the mind active without the structure of a class. This looks like reading, playing chess or maybe learning a language or instrument.
Social
For many, a social hobby could be joining an organization on campus. Outlets like greek life, a sport, a church Bible study or watching sports games with friends are easy, accessible ways to become more social.
Restorative
No one should be without a restorative hobby; something that genuinely makes them feel calm and grounded. This can be journaling, gardening, having devotional or quiet time.
Many of these hobbies can also overlap with a deeper purpose. Participating in a band can meet social, intellectual and creative needs, just like how playing a sport meets social and physical needs. You can also combine your social and restorative needs by joining a bible study.
Full time students might lack ample free time to make each of these hobbies an intense time commitment, but these things don’t have to get an hour of attention each day. They don’t each have to be done every day. As college students, we have to be intentional and choose which hobbies to do and which to save for another day.
Each student should evaluate their free time, ask themselves what they really spend it on and ask if their five most important needs are being met.
