December 7, 2025
Hobbies in a trench coat
Vanity Activities
Vanity Activities: Is your hustle just a hobby? LinkedIn dragged, self-help stans clap back
TLDR: A viral essay labeled networking, news, biohacking, and productivity hacks as “vanity” time sinks. Comments split: some say just admit it’s a hobby, while others defend networking and self-help—roasting LinkedIn along the way. The debate matters because it’s about how we spend time and what actually moves the needle.
A viral rant crowned “vanity activities” the sneakiest time-sink: from credit card churning to news-binging, biohacking, “ethical” swaps, networking mixers, and productivity obsession. Cue a comment-section pile-on. The top meme? One deadpan zinger: “I too have hobbies.” Translation: admit it’s for fun and vibes, not profits or virtue.
Then the crowd turned to roast season. One veteran asked what the point of LinkedIn even is, igniting a corporate-thirst dunkathon. But pushback arrived fast: defenders argued networking isn’t a lottery—it “increases your luck surface area” (plain English: more people knowing you exist helps you get hired). The “news is entertainment” camp chimed in too—listeners confessed their daily podcasts rarely change decisions, while others clung to staying informed as a civic duty. Biohackers got side-eyed for turning bodies into dashboards, and ethics purists heard, “Paper straws won’t save the planet.”
The spiciest split? Productivity. Some called self-help a shiny distraction; then a commenter dropped a life-plot twist: Atomic Habits helped them quit drugs, eat clean, and lift. Boom—thread silenced. Verdict from the crowd: it’s fine if your “systems” are just fun—just don’t pretend they’re always world-saving or money-making. Honesty is the new flex.
Key Points
- •The article defines “vanity activities” as pursuits that appear useful or virtuous but provide limited real value relative to time invested.
- •Credit card churning is presented as a primary example of a vanity activity when pursued deeply.
- •Reading the news is characterized as largely entertainment with minimal practical impact for most readers.
- •Biohacking and certain ethical consumption choices are questioned for their actual effectiveness compared to more impactful behavior changes.
- •Networking events and productivity optimization efforts may be driven more by enjoyment than measurable career or effectiveness gains.