LEISURE

Socialization into Leisure & Leisure and Successful Aging



Leisure

Introduction

Leisure

In modern societies, the term leisure is used, explicitly or implicitly, as an adjective or noun to refer to time that is unaccounted for by work, other obligations and necessary activities, the things that are done in this time, and the experiences that are derived. Leisure and consumption overlap; neither encompasses the whole of the other. That said, it is within leisure time and through leisure spending that consumer cultures have developed to a point where an issue of current debate is whether consumer cultures have not only penetrated but also are overwhelming the whole of leisure. The systematic study of leisure dates from the creation of leisure studies as a specialist academic subject in North America in the 1950s and 1960s. Leisure had been studied previously but nearly always as a by-product in studies of work and occupations through exploring the “long arm of the job” or in community studies where leisure was covered as part of family and neighborhood life (Wearing, 2008).

Until leisure itself became the focus, a precise definition seems to have been considered unnecessary. Leisure has been defined as a type of time, a type of activity, and a type of experience and various combinations of these, but researchers have found that time is the truly basic, essential feature in a satisfactory concept of modern leisure. With this recognition, we see instantly that the leisure of today is a product of modern, industrial society. Many of the activities that we engage in during leisure predate the modern era. This applies to sports and games, drinking, and various arts and crafts. As far as we can tell, throughout history human beings have played, amused themselves and one another, and found time to relax, but this was not leisure as we know it today. Modern leisure is a product of the compartmentalization and rationalization of work. Industrialism takes work out of homes and neighborhoods and relocates it in mines, factories, and offices, where people work at set times, under work-specific authority, and amid work-specific relationships (Robinson, 2009).

Discussion

How Leisure is Used

The popularity of different kinds of leisure can be compared in terms of the amounts of time or money that they account for or the proportion of the population that takes part. It is impossible to establish a simple rank order. Even so, there is no mistaking the big three.

Media

TV, radio, films, recorded music, print, and nowadays the Internet account for around a half of all leisure time. Television is still king of the media in terms of hours spent viewing, but it is the Internet that is currently driving change. The Internet is now an alternative source of films, recorded music, news and chat; the base for thousands of interest groups; and a way of purchasing all types of goods. All other media and leisure activities more generally, have to adapt to, learn to live with, and maybe benefit from the Internet. Fifty years ago, all other media had to ...