if dont make something useful nor capable inventing something. is that waste of resources to pretend smart
if dont make something useful. is this addiction like hoarding
if make something good, it will show up on aliexpress for 1/10 bom cost
if components become tiny, need expensive assembly service
if components become less reliable
what is net worth from this
I feel this in my bones.
I feel it about electronics and about all my other hobbies. It's a feeling that I'm wasting my time. That I should be doing something more productive or worthwhile. Other posters have said that if you enjoy it then it's not a waste, and I agree completely. But it's not that simple.
One problem is that if I did switch to some other hobby, I'd eventually feel the same way about it. So the truth is that this it's not about electronics, or any other particular hobby. It's an issue with me experiencing existential dread.
Another problem--and this may just be me being weird--is that sometimes I don't know whether I'm enjoying something or not. My hobbies all involve problem-solving of some sort. Problem-solving can be fun and rewarding, but it can also be frustrating. This happens all too often: I want to make something (a circuit/program/metal doohicky), and I run into a really challenging problem/task. I get tunnel vision while working on it, and then a couple of hours later I'll realize that I've not been having fun for the past 45 minutes, and I feel like that time was wasted. It's difficult for me to realize when I need to pause and go do something else.
And when I think about it, I do like and mostly enjoy electronics and my other hobbies, even if they frustrate me sometimes. Apart from some applications that I can use in the classroom (like approximating the golden ratio with a resistor ladder), I don't foresee anything "useful" coming out of it, and I know that that is okay. But it doesn't always feel okay. I'm sorry that the OP has these sorts of feelings, but it is comforting that I'm not the only one.