Leisure And Media
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Leisure And Media
- Personal Experience:
Leisure and media have been relatable to my life since childhood. As a child, leisure activities usually revolved around various media, such as watching cartoons on TV or playing video games. As I grew up, media became a more significant part of my leisure activities as I engaged in more offline and online video games. Furthermore, these media have evolved from just tools for leisure activities to tools for socializing and learning new things.
- Surprises and Impact:
One surprising aspect is how media strongly influences our choice of leisure activities. These media not only provide entertainment but also help to alleviate stress and depressive thoughts (Shen et al., 2022). On the other hand, too much consumption of the same can lead to addiction, anxiety, and depressive thoughts (Keles et al., 2019). Therefore, understanding these influences is important because they impact our mental well-being. The extent to which we consume media for leisure is both fascinating and concerning, hence the need for controls.
- Key Learning and Sociological Perspective
I have learned that media informs our choice of leisure activities, which can then influence our values and social norms. From a sociological perspective, the media is a powerful tool that helps to construct our leisure activities, social norms, ideologies, and stereotypes. This then influences how society perceives certain leisure activities. It is, therefore, important to critically analyze media representations to understand their implications on societal perceptions and behaviors.
- Missing Elements:
One important missing element is the role of technology in the consumption of media for leisure. Over the years, the way we engage with media and leisure has changed significantly, thanks to the advent of new technologies such as smartphones, social media, and virtual reality, among others. It is, therefore, crucial to examine how technology converges with the consumption of media and leisure. This would provide useful insights into how leisure activities are evolving in the digital age.
- Remaining Questions
Although the topic thoroughly covers the issue of leisure and media, some questions still need to be answered. For example, “How do social-economic factors influence participation in leisure activities mediated by media channels?” and “What are the long-term effects of consuming media for leisure for different age groups?” Exploring these questions could further the understanding of the nexus between leisure and media.
References
Keles, B., McCrae, N., & Grealish, A. (2019). A systematic review: The influence of social media on depression, anxiety and psychological distress in adolescents. International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, 25(1), 79–93. Taylor & Francis Online. https://doi.org/10.1080/02673843.2019.1590851
Shen, X., MacDonald, M., Logan, S. W., Parkinson, C., Gorrell, L., & Hatfield, B. E. (2022). Leisure Engagement during COVID-19 and Its Association with Mental Health and Wellbeing in U.S. Adults. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(3), 1081. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19031081