Leisure, An Introduction:
Chapter 1
Why is leisure becoming a phenomenon?
- Leisure had many meanings for different people and groups
- Leisure is vital to provide an outlet and opportunity to do different things from the routine,
daily activities and, for those who work, a break from the mental and physical requirements
of employment.
- Leisure creates opportunities for social and community interaction.
- Leisure is a discretionary activity. (geen vaste regels)
- Leisure activities are key economic drivers for the global economy.
o National and local economies
o Advanced and developing
- Leisure helps develop, diversify and regenerate local economies dependent upon declining
industries.
- Leisure activities are good cause it offers the opportunity to escape stress, and do something
else we are not obliged to do. (thinks the government)
- Leisure for some social groups has assumed a role in defining their differences from other
social groups.
- Many leisure goods have become more widely available, so that they become everyday
rather than luxury items.
- Leisure activities at home (Xbox, Wii, Cinema set)
- Global communications and media popularization of leisure and brands together. (Disney is
also a themepark)
What is leisure?
Leisure is what we do in our free time.
Two features emerge:
- Society, the population and it’s pursuit of leisure have continued through history, albeit in
different forms.
- The pursuit of leisure through history has seen changes in the way different social groups
have gained greater access to leisure opportunities.
Big change:
Pre-industrial society, work and rural society, were organized around seasonal and daily rhythms.
Leisure time was less regimented and measured in terms of hours and minutes.
Reasons for studying leisure:
Economic Reasons Consumption
Physical reasons Positive benefits for individual and family well-
being through what psychologist call its
contribution to life-satisfaction.
Social Reasons Unite societies
Political Reasons How the public sector can assist in developing
and implementing policies to manage public
leisure provision, as the state is a major provider
and manager of leisure services.
(parks/museums/etc)
,Studying helps us to:
- Consider how people use their time, particularly when not working.
- Evaluate who does what and why in relation to their leisure time as well as examining the
activity patterns.
- Examine the constraints and attitudes of different social groups in leisure settings.
There are 3 approaches (benaderingen) to leisure:
- Free time (activity, ‘state of mind’)
- Objective sense (non work)
- Subjective manner (only if you like it, without a purpose)
Key issues in defining leisure:
- The role of time
- Freedom from constraints or obligations
- An individual’s state of mind and perception of leisure
- The significance of work and non-work
- The lifestyle of individuals
Distinguishing between leisure, recreation and tourism
Leisure and tourism are leisure-based activities.
Tourism can also be work. You can go on a business travel for example.
What hall and Page’s (2006) examination of the leisure-recreation-tourism relationship shows is that
a leisure spectrum exists, with travel helping to differentiate between each activity, although the
boundaries are still artificial.
- Leisure is viewed as the time, activities and experience derived, characterized by freedom.
- Recreation is about the activities undertaken in one’s leisure time leading to renewal.
- Tourism is travel to a destination (involving an overnight stay and 24 hours away from home)
which incorporates leisure and recreation activities)
Approaches to defining leisure
4 ways to define leisure:
- Time-based approach: Leisure is the time when you’re not at work.
(biological needs, work-related activities, free time, obligated time)
- Activity-based approach: Leisure is implicitly about the opportunity to pursue an activity,
typically on a daily basis, selected by free will. Among such activities are those associated
with:
o Rest (watching television or reading a book, visit family if you like to)
o Amusement (watching a comedy)
o Education (undertaking adult education)
o Participation (in sporting activities)
- Attitude-based approach: Individual attitude and lifestyles condition, change the way we see
a leisure activity. What is and what is not leisure? The individual gives meaning to chosen
activities or places. What does it mean to the participant? Leisure is not focused on time or
activity, which means that leisure is intrinsic to the person.
- Quality-based approach: This approach focuses on the individual and how they regard an
activity and whether they perceive it as leisure or not. It’s about personal pleasure instead of
a time-filler.
The leisure society:
In the industrialization people had no leisure time, but in the post-industrial/postmodern people had
more time so leisure came up.
, Leisure recreation and play
The personal interaction derived from play mal help and future managerial traits (leadership,
teamwork, empathy, understanding, an ability to plan and coordinate the activities of others) It can
create imagination and creativity)
Entertainment as leisure
Throughout history, those with leisure time have not only pursued home-based and out-of-home
leisure activities with friends and family, but have also undertaken a range of social-related pursuits
which are passive (and active).
Socialist have analysed trends in leisure activities and point to some of the current areas of growth:
- The contrast between indoor and out-of-doors leisure consumption
- The search for nature in outdoor leisure
- The rise of in-home, personalized leisure epitomized by Internet browsing, gaming and social
networking as forms of consumption.
Leisure can perform an important social and mental role in relation to an individual’s well-being.
‘Leisure can be a major source of happiness and of mental and physical health.’
For this reason the link between leisure and well-being is an important relationship to examine.
Leisure, well-being and society
People live in hectic daily lives compounded by the stresses of commuting, work and in some cases
their living environment. Leisure assumes an even greater role in modern society, with evidence to
suggest that viewing green spaces can reduce one’s blood pressure an stress levels, illustrating the
importance of building leisure spaces into crowded urban environments. Leisure is also
acknowledged as an important weapon in the armoury to fight this scourge of modern-day society-
stress. There are also examples of leisure activities which are not seen as contributing to health and
well-being as they are health jeopardizing and may involve personal risk.
‘well being’ is the capacity of an individual to function optimally and the extent of satisfaction with
that functioning.
- The psychology of leisure and well-being based on the concept of hedonism.(genotzucht)
- The psychology of leisure focused on self-growth and well-being, based on the idea of self-
actualisation ( the ability of an individual to fulfill their potential through leisure)
Leisure as a defining element of the individual, family and group
One notable area of social inquiry by sociologists has been their analysis of family, community and
other social elements of leisure sach as its meaning to families and group. The environment of the
home has become a defining feature of modern-day leisure.
Leisure choices and our leisure behavior are influenced by society. They were influenced by:
- Social institutions (the state, workplace, the family and other groups)
- Class, gender and race;
Two broad areas which are not mutually exclusive:
- Leisure as freedom
- Leisure as control
Leisure and globalization
Globalisation describes the process of integrating economic activities and decision-making beyond
national and regional boundaries towards a borderless and interconnected world.
An increasingly dominant sign of globalization epitomize the international spread and a time-space
compression.
Branding, is a key development in this globalization process.