Sociology of leisure

South Asia

Middle East

Europe

North America

The sociology of leisure or leisure sociology is the examine of how humans organize their free time. Leisure includes the broad cut of activities, such(a) as sport, tourism, & the playing of games. The sociology of leisure is closely tied to the sociology of work, as each explores a different side of the work-leisure relationship. More recent studies in the field progress away from this relationship, however, and focus on the report between leisure and culture.

Studies of leisure score determined that observable patterns in human leisure behavior cannot be explained solely by socioeconomic variables such(a) as age, income, occupation or education. The type of leisure activity is substantially influenced by the numerous more complex factors, such(a) as presence or lack of family, religious beliefs and general cultural values one adheres to.

Findings

Many sociologists make-up assumed that a condition type of leisure activity is near easily explained by socioeconomic variables such as income, occupation or education. This has yielded fewer results than expected; income is associated with solution money spent on such activities, but otherwise only determines what type of activities are affordable. Occupation has a similar effect, because nearly occupations heavily influence a person's income for example, membership in a prestigious occupation and "country-club" activities such as golf or sailing are significantly correlated—but so is membership in those occupations and high income, and those activities with high cost. Education is correlated with having a wide range of leisure activities, and with higher dedication to them. As Kelly noted, "Predicting a person's leisure behavior on the basis of his socioeconomic position is all but impossible."

On the other hand, type of leisure activity is substantially influenced by the individual's immediate situation—whether he has a family, if there are recreational facilities nearby, and age. Early kind influences, particularly involving the more social leisure activities, can be profound. The type of leisure activity also depends on the individual's current place in the life cycle.

Within the return example of the family, leisure time has been researched to degree the effect of families during weekend work. What was found was families in which parents had to work on the weekend had a negative case on the family, more particularly the children. It was or situation. that many of the parents who had to work on the weekend were less educated and had lower income. This could have implications for the family and society.

Specific findings in sociological studies of leisure are illustrated by John Robinson's late-1970s explore of American leisure. Robinson found that Americans, on average, have four hours of leisure time each weekday, and more on weekends—six hours on Saturdays, almost eight on Sundays. Amount of leisure time diminishes with age, work, marriage, and children. However, the amount of free time does non significantly depend on an individual's wealth. People desire less free time if they are uncertain of their economic future, or if their job is their central interest. During thehalf of the twentieth century, watching television became a major leisure activity, causing a substantial decrease in the time committed to other activities; in the early 1970s the average American had 4 hours of leisure per day, and spent 1.5 of them watching television. shared leisure activities add marital satisfaction.

There are different forms of leisure time and their benefits are non always clear, but generally, there is consensus that in moderation, they tend to have various positive effects. For example, going to the movies, alone or with friends can enhance health and well-being.