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Sunday, June 14, 2015

Hobby Claims about Genealogy are Unfounded

Here is a quote from the ABC News Website back on October 24, 2012 in an article entitled "Who's Your Daddy? Genealogy Becomes $1.6 B Hobby."
Hard numbers are difficult to come by, but hobby experts believe that genealogy ranks second only to gardening as American's favorite pastime.
That is the only mention made by the article, which by the way, was primarily about Permira's acquisition of Ancestry.com.

Notwithstanding the fact that there is no substantiation or even a citation to this claim, another article, this time in the Dickinson Press in Dickinson, North Dakota, takes that statement and claims the following:
According to ABC News, ancestry is the second-most popular hobby in the U.S. after gardening and the second-most visited category of websites after pornography.
The unattributed article by the ABC News has now been elevated to doctrine. Here is your mission, should you choose to accept it. Find one list of currently popular hobbies that includes genealogy as a hobby. I don't even care if it is number 50 or 100, just find a list where genealogy is listed as a popular hobby.

So who are the hobby experts and where is their list?



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7 comments:

  1. Mary Rohrer DexterJune 14, 2015 at 6:58 AM

    Would table four of this study qualify for what you are asking? http://www.harrisinteractive.com/vault/Harris%20Poll%2093%20-%20Work%20and%20Leisure_12.9.2013.pdf

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    1. James TannerJune 14, 2015 at 7:46 AM

      There are all sorts of lists of activities, including the United States Census lists, I have yet to find one that specifically mentions "genealogy" as a hobby. Your reference to the Harris Poll lumps all of the "hobbies" into one category "Hobby related activities." Thanks for all your comments.

      Delete
  2. kdduncanJune 14, 2015 at 9:48 AM

    Honestly, I could not find a current list that ranks hobbies. However, I did find a short list of popular hobbies that might explain why I could not find a longer, more definitive list: http://puertoricowow.net/prnt_ed/watching-tv-listening-to-music-most-popular-hobbies-9748.html. The upshot is that "hobbies" in America all involve sitting around doing nothing: watching tv, listening to music, spending time with family, browsing the web, and hanging out with friends. Not to worry, napping is growing in popularity, followed closely by resting. Or was it the other way around? Anyway, I did not find a current list of hobbies that ranked actual activities like gardening or knitting or quilting or anything. I did find genealogy in lists of suggested activities, especially for seniors. Sigh.

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    1. James TannerJune 14, 2015 at 10:11 AM

      Hmm, maybe I should drop genealogy as a hobby and take up napping. Sounds like an attractive idea.

      Delete
  3. IsraelPJune 14, 2015 at 10:03 AM

    I love when you call folks like this to task!

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    1. James TannerJune 14, 2015 at 10:11 AM

      Thanks, in this case, they made the taking to task part really easy.

      Delete
  4. fizzywaterSeptember 12, 2015 at 6:03 PM

    Funny, I am writing a paper about genealogy as a hobby/leisure activity and have been trying to find the source for ABC news quote you mentioned above. I"m glad to see I'm not the only one who can't find it in a list of "top hobbies!"

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