Leisure is an essential part of life
Short Answer Questions
1
Leisure is an essential part of life in that it provides one with a sense of achievement, control, freedom, and creativity. The definition of leisure is largely dependent on the value, experience, or meaning that is derived from a particular activity. As such, although swimming is my favorite sport it can be leisure or work depending on the experience that I am able to derive from the swimming session. For instance, swimming during a weekend with my friends can amount to leisure. However, swimming in order to boost my team’s performance in school does not equate to leisure but rather an activity. Therefore, the definition of leisure should embrace more precise terms such as leisure activity, state of mind, or time instead of using the term “leisure” which is likely to become misinterpreted in that it is dependent on various factors.
- Leisure as time – As explained by Belkin (2010), this is leisure that is free from other obligations, tasks, or work that is either paid or unpaid. As such, most women often lack the ability to experience leisure as time owing to family and work-oriented obligations.
- Leisure as Activity – Refers to an array of activities that people often engage in during their free time that is not associated with any work or the pursuits that are selected voluntarily.
- Leisure as a State of Mind – This type of leisure is dependent on the participant’s perception or state of mind. As such, individual motivation (intrinsic motivation), and perceived competence or freedom can determine one’s experience from a particular activity as leisure or not.
As such, leisure is different from other forms of activity such as play and work.
Play – Play is intrinsically motivated, imaginative, and actively engaging in that it is characterized by joyfulness, spontaneity, and it is often done with the aim of deriving the inherent pleasure.
Recreation – Although many people consider recreation as part of leisure, 2019 explains that recreation is an activity that people tend to engage in during their free time in that it is often considered to have values that are socially redeeming and includes activities such as sports, dance, music, and games, among others.
Work – Unlike recreation and play, work is often undertaken to benefit an individual with monetary or material compensation. Although the change in perception has enabled people to begin viewing work as leisure, the two are different in that work is still challenging and absorbing for most people compared to leisure.
Leisure Satisfaction
Satisfaction from leisure is the positive feeling or perception that an individual gain as a result of engagement in leisure activities. I often feel satisfied as a result of the feeling of achievement that I often get from participating in swimming activities. This feeling can best be understood by 2019 explanation that the degree of an individual’s satisfaction is often derived from the degree of fulfilment from a particular experience or activity. The satisfaction of needs as a result of participation in leisure can also result in the attainment of feelings of happiness and contentment.
2
Contrary to most people’s understanding, ethnicity and race are distinct concepts. While race pertains to physical features such as skin colour, hair, and height, ethnicity is mostly concerned with cultural features such as family patterns, religion, language, and ancestral origins. However, although these terms are different, they are likely to overlap when an individual uses the same term to describe both race and ethnicity, a phenomenon commonly referred to as racialized ethnicity. For instance, one can describe an individual as “Chinese” or “American” with the aim of identifying their ethnicity and race.
Most times, one’s desire to involve in a particular activity may be deterred by various constraints that range from financial, health or social problems. For instance, I was not able to enjoy my participation in hiking expenditure as a result of health-related issues. As such, such factors that stand between a perceived leisure activity and the opportunity to engage actively is what amounts to leisure constraint. Leisure constraints often range from intrapersonal constraints such as religiosity or mental health issues – stress, depression – or religiosity among others. For instance, one’s religious perception towards the use of alcohol and marijuana may restrict one from achieving leisure from their use. Structural constraints such as financial issues and lack of sufficient time are likely to restrict the ability of the minority groups to engage in leisure activities.
Although leisure is expected to be a moment of fulfilment and enjoyment, the existent of constraints can restrict an individual from achieving the ultimate level of fulfilment. For instance, women’s desires to engage in leisure associated with the exposure of their body such as swimming may be affected by a lack of body confidence and self-esteem. As such, leisure experts should identify ways in which they can reduce the effect of intrapersonal constraints that are likely to affect their ability to achieve the anticipated level of satisfaction. In order to reduce the effect of fear, anxiety or lack of perceived self-skills, women should be advised to practice in order to perfect their swimming skills. Alternatively, the should be encouraged to wear swimming kits that increase their confidence and engage in activities that will improve their body image.
3
In the simplest terms, social constructions refer to knowledge, assumptions, or beliefs derived from a particular society and often differs from one society to another. Disability refers to various impairments that may limit an individual’s participation in a particular activity or limit their enjoyment. Social construction of disability refers to the meaning constructed by the society in relation to emotional, social, mental, and cognitive impairments. The society develops perceptions about various disabilities by behaving or thinking in a manner that assumes that every individual in the society is an abled person, an aspect that prevents the individuals with disabilities from getting included in the society fully. As such, although people often experience differing emotional, physical, or developmental challenges, the perception of disabling conditions is often created by societal beliefs, definition, and understanding.
Growing up, it was easy to hear the term “autistic child” or “disabled child” rather than “a child with autism” or “a child with a disability.” This has enabled me to understand the term “person-first language” which explains the need to prioritize the individual before their disability by describing what the individual has rather than what they are. This phenomenon has facilitated the promotion of positive attributes in relation to individuals with disabilities rather than viewing them in line with their diagnosis, an aspect that encouraged its use in Therapeutic Recreation Work. The use of person-first language has been used in this field owing to the fact that it is ability-oriented and promotes positive attitudes and beliefs by prioritizes the individual first as a person to show their importance above their disability.
Special Olympics is an example of a program that segregates individuals with disabilities by making the sports only about this special group of people. Their mission states, “To provide year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills and friendship with their families, other Special Olympics athletes and the community.” Going by its mission, the organization provides sports and athletic competition to individuals who have intellectual disabilities.
Other programs such as the Kids Art Club often create environments that promote inclusivity by encouraging practical and theoretical learning in various arts including music, visual art, drama, and dance. The program prioritizes the provision of inclusive experiences that enables the participating students to apply their practical experiences.
4
Communities that participate in sports often benefit from increased social solidarity, community pride, and enhanced economy and improved infrastructure. In relation to improved solidarity and community pride, sports often facilitate the development of safe places where inhabitants are healthy and happy than in areas where the physical activity are not encouraged. Another benefit associated with engagement in sports in the community is the aspect of growth in the economy which is often attributed to the sale of tickets and growth of tourists who are likely to impact various sectors of the economy including infrastructure (Stadium), education, and hospitality. Lastly, engagement in continuous sports activities and recreation often create strong, happy, healthy, and safe communities.
Although sports are beneficial to the community and the country at large, they can be controversial or challenging in terms of a diverse population.
Gender – Gender is a population of concern when it comes to sports and leisure. This is because sports are often associated with masculinity which limits the participation of individuals with feminine characteristics. As such, girls in sports are often considered to be lesbians while others are seen as inefficient in that they lack the perceived power, competitiveness, strength, and aggression, that is considered the sport ideal.
Homophobia – This is another challenge and controversy inherent in sports owing to the fact that sports tend to support the phenomenon of marginalization, exclusion, and the aspect of homophobia. As such, any willing participation who are not within the definition of homophobes are likely to get excluded from participation.
Race – The issue of race and ethnicity is a challenge faced by most willing participants. Although efforts have been made to promote inclusivity, there is a growing perception of racial segregation which limits people who are beyond the stipulated characteristics.
eSports refers to a form of sports whereby electron systems are the primary elements of sporting. In other words, it is digital gaming that involves spectating and competitive or cooperative interactions between the players.
Competitive gamers are not necessarily athletes in that being an athlete is often associated with the aspect of agility, speed, explosiveness, physical strength, endurance, and the skill of coordination. In order to become classified as an athlete, one must possess the aspect of physical movement whereby the body is well coordinates to ensure successful completion of the task.
5
I am both a Utopian and Prophet-of-doom in that I tend to interpret things from a positive and negative perspective. As such, I am the best fit for an in-between person rather than an extremely positive or negative individual in that I believe there is something good that comes out of every situation. For instance, although COVID-19 has affected the economy in a myriad of ways (negative), it has enabled people to value life, connection, and to view life from an in-depth perspective rather than a materialistic outlook.
Since the outbreak of COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan-China in 2019, the world has undergone a period that has reduced people’s willingness to participate in leisure activities. Going by the definition, the value of leisure is often derived from the quality of time, experience, and engagement that one gets from participation. As such, COVID-19 has affected people’s willingness to participate in leisure as time, leisure as a state of mind, and leisure as an activity. Leisure as an activity and as a state of mind has been affected by people’s fear to contract the infection which has limited their ability to engage in leisure activities. In a bid to control the spread of the infection, WHO has advised people to maintain social distancing and reduce movements or travel. As such, leisure attained from travelling, interaction with people and engagement in activities that involve many people has been restrained as a result of the infection.
Leisure as an activity has been limited by COVID-19 owing to the fact that people’s time has been constrained to their homes with most people being required to work from their homes. As such, leisure time that was spent by families has been shifted to a period of professional duties with minimal or no leisure activities.