Recreation, Leisure, and Play Megan Marlowe, M.S. Megan.marlowe@usm.edu 601-266-5105 Website: usm-marlowe.weebly.com

Leisure List Make a list of all leisure you have experienced Find a partner Tell him/her all the leisure “things” that you have recently seen, done, or come into contact with Write down all the different leisure activities that you did yesterday Get with a partner and share your activities Have partners share with the class What did you notice? Any similarities? Any differences? Did you have a difficult time thinking of activities? If you had to compare, did you do more leisure activities or more of everything else? Would things look differently if I asked you to look at a week or a month rather than just one day? Billion dollar business that is everywhere we look

LEISURE Definition: voluntary participation in leisure activities that are meaningful and enjoyable What are the catch words in this definition?

Essential Elements of Leisure Perceived freedom – embarks on experience at will and is also able to leave it at will. Auto telic nature – having a purpose that is done through self-motivation and not because of external factors Beneficial outcome – one undertakes the activity on the assumption that doing so will yield some type of benefit

So basically Leisure is: Does as one pleases At one’s own pace Choice in participation Abandon activity at will

Reasons to Participate in Leisure Personal Development Social Bonding Therapeutic Physical Well Being Stimulation Freedom and Independence Nostalgia

Constraints to Leisure Accessibility Social Isolation Personal Reasons Costs Time Commitments Facilities

Leisure and Learning: Kinds of knowledge one might acquire while engaging in leisure activities: New behavior or skill learning: ex outdoor experiences might provide opportunities to learn new skills such as building shelters and preparing food.

Memory learning: participation in some leisure activity that has been shown to improve recall and recognition memory. Memory of learning directions, rules, techniques and strategies is required for later participation in and enjoyment of activities. Factual learning: Gaining useful knowledge while engaging in leisure pursuits such as traveling, art galleries and museums, gardening.

Attitude and value learning: Often the acquisition of new knowledge leads to the development of new positive attitudes and values. Ex: camping, new value and attitude towards the outdoors.

Spiritual Benefits of Leisure However you define “Spiritual” 1. Enhanced personal development – increasing self confidence by mastering a skill 2. Greater appreciation for the wonders of nature 3. An expanded social consciousness – ex. Environment 4. A sense of well being

Demographic Variables of Leisure Behavior: Our choice of leisure pursuits depends on the demographic variables of: Age: Over the course of a lifetime people may lose interests in some leisure activities and become more interested in others. Ex: children playing tag and finger painting end up playing team sports When people get married and have children they tend to abandon doing things with friends and devote more free time to family outings.

Gender: Boys and Girls play patterns differ and so do men’s and women’s. Despite may improvements for women throughout the years, they devote less time to leisure because of work and domestic responsibilities. This is true in the U.S. and abroad.

Occupation: A clear correlation has been identified between one’s occupation and the kinds of leisure pursuits they undertake and the time that they devote to leisure. Studies show that higher pay professional occupations engage in a greater variety of leisure pursuits that their counterpart. Professionals have more money to spend and in the course of their education they are have more exposure to different interest.

Residence: People’s opportunities for and choices of leisure pursuits depend on their geographic location. Studies show that people who live in urban areas participate more in recreational activities than rural residents do.

Lifestyle: “The way people live” This encompasses all of the other variables that are listed. Age, gender, occupation and residence. These variables all influence the way we live.