IELTS Speaking – a hobby that you started recently

It depends on how much time I have. If it's just an hour or so, I'll usually read or listen to a podcast. At weekends, I like to get out of the house, so I'll meet friends for coffee or go cycling around West Lake. Every now and then, I also spend a whole afternoon just baking.

Yes, quite a lot. As a child, I was obsessed with drawing and collecting stickers, and I spent hours flying kites with my cousins. These days, my hobbies are more about relaxing after a busy week, like reading or going to the gym. Sadly, I've completely lost the habit of drawing, though I'd like to pick it up again.

I'm a bit of a homebody, so I'd usually choose a quiet weekend at home, especially after a hectic week. I love having a lie-in, cooking something nice and watching a film. That said, if I stay in for the whole weekend, I start to get restless, so I usually go out at least once to see friends.

Yes, I've been meaning to try rock climbing for ages. A couple of my friends go to an indoor climbing centre every week, and from what they say, it's both physically challenging and a great way to clear your mind. I'm a little afraid of heights, to be honest, so it would also be a good way to face that fear.

A hobby I took up quite recently is film photography, which means taking photos with an old-fashioned camera that uses rolls of film instead of a memory card. I started it about eight months ago, almost by accident. I was helping my grandparents clear out their storeroom, and I came across my grandfather's old camera in a dusty box. It was a Russian model from the 1980s, and he told me he'd used it to take most of our family photos when my mum was a child. He offered to let me keep it, and I thought, why not give it a go? I watched a few online tutorials, bought some film from a little shop in the Old Quarter, and that was it, really. These days, I go out shooting maybe once or twice a month, usually on a Sunday morning when the light is soft and the streets are quiet. I don't take that many photos each time, because each roll has only thirty-six shots and getting it developed isn't cheap. So I have to think carefully about every single picture. I think that's exactly why I enjoy it so much. With my phone, I just take hundreds of photos without thinking, and I rarely look at them again. Film photography, on the other hand, forces me to slow down and really pay attention to what's around me, like the way the light falls on an old building or the expression on a street vendor's face. There's also something exciting about waiting a week to see how the photos turn out. Some are disappointing, of course, but when one turns out well, it's incredibly satisfying. And it makes me feel more connected to my grandfather, which is a lovely bonus.

I think the main reason is that modern life is incredibly busy. Many people work long hours, commute for an hour or more each day and then have family responsibilities when they get home, so by the evening they're simply too exhausted to do anything active. There's also a cultural factor. In some societies, including mine, hobbies are sometimes seen as a waste of time compared with work or study. And honestly, smartphones play a role too, because scrolling is so easy that it quietly eats up the free time we do have.

Personally, I think enjoyment is more than enough. The whole point of a hobby is to give us a break from the pressure to be productive, so if every hobby had to be useful, it would just feel like another job. Activities like painting or gardening are valuable precisely because they help people relax and recharge. That said, many hobbies turn out to be useful anyway. Playing a sport keeps you fit, and learning a language might help your career. But I'd say those benefits should be a bonus, not the main reason for doing it.

In my country, the difference is quite striking. Older people tend to prefer activities that are social and outdoors, such as doing group exercise in the park early in the morning, playing chess or meeting friends over tea. Younger people, on the other hand, spend a lot more of their free time on screens, whether that's gaming, streaming or social media. Having said that, the line is becoming blurred. Plenty of young people are into hiking or pickleball, and many grandparents now watch videos on their phones. So it's more a difference of degree than a complete divide.

Yes, definitely, and it's becoming more common thanks to the internet. Social media has made it possible for people to share their passion with a huge audience, so a cooking hobby might become a popular YouTube channel or a small online business. I know someone who started making handmade jewellery for fun and now sells it full-time. However, I think there's a risk too. Once a hobby becomes your livelihood, you have to deal with deadlines, customers and financial pressure, and the joy can sometimes fade. So it can work, but it requires business skills, not just passion.