Sociology of leisure

Sociology of leisure is the study of how humans organize their free time. Leisure includes a broad array of activities, such as sport, tourism, and 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 move away from the work-leisure relationship and focus on the relation between leisure and culture.

Studies of leisure have determined that observable patterns cannot be easily explained by socioeconomic variables such as income, occupation or education. The type of leisure activity is substantially influenced by the individual's immediate situation (presence or lack of family, age, and other factors).

Sociology of leisure is a fairly recent subfield of sociology, compared to more traditional subfields such as sociology of work, sociology of the family, and sociology of education: it saw most of its development in the second half of the 20th century. Until then, leisure had often been seen as a relatively unimportant, minor feature of society. Leisure is now recognized as a major social institution, deserving of serious sociological inquiry, particularly in Western societies.

As John Wilson and others have noted, it is difficult to define leisure. Its definitions are numerous and often mutually contradictory, for example as a discrete portion of one's time or as a quality of experience irrespective of time.Joffre Dumazedier distinguished four distinct definitions of leisure, which begin broadly and gradually narrow in scope. The first and broadest defines leisure as a style of behavior that may occur even at work, the second defines it as any non-work activity; the third further excludes family and household obligations; and, finally, the narrowest defines leisure as activities dedicated to self-fulfillment. Dumazedier's four definitions are not exhaustive. Incompatible definitions and measures are seen as a major factor accounting for occasionally contradictory research findings.

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