In today’s always on, overstimulating environment, more and more teenagers and young adults are finding gentle enjoyment in “grandma hobbies.”
“Think about things your grandma used to do — slower-paced activities that are enjoyable,” said Dr. Christina Lee, a child psychiatrist with Kaiser Permanente in White Marsh, Maryland. “Things like baking, gardening, knitting, making quilts, crocheting, scrapbooking, embroidery, candle-making, drinking tea, reading.”
Some of the benefits of these hobbies have existed since your grandmother was a child.
“They’re meant to be done in your own space, in your own home, where you feel safe — and they can be a time for introspection,” Lee said. “Or it can be a place where you’re doing it with another person, working on puzzles together or playing cards.”
Lee said doing hobbies provides more than enjoyment: “It can increase your dopamine levels, it can improve your mood, it can tap into your creativity, and really combat loneliness, too.”
The benefits one derives from meditation and mindfulness are similar to those one gets while doing hobbies.
“It forces you to take your time doing them,” Lee said.
If the thought of a teenager quietly doing a hobby without a cellphone present sounds preposterous, Lee said phones are playing a role in the growing popularity of grandma hobbies.
“Social media is showing a lot of teenagers recording themselves doing these activities, and that’s why I think they’re so much more in the mainstream,” Lee said.
A quick search of TikTok shows trends including “Brat Grandma Hobbies,” “Millennials Going Straight to Granny Hobbies,” and “Mah Jongg Sets.”
“I think that’s why it’s becoming so popular, because teens are actually seeing it on their social media platforms that they’re already on. So, they’re getting intrigued by the different things they’re watching,” Lee said.
Over time, she said, young adults can realize how beneficial taking it slow and getting unplugged can be.
“It’s like a self-fulfilling prophecy, right? They start to realize how much they enjoy the hobby, and how it’s helping them to slow down and improve their focus,” Lee said.
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