The expectations of free time have shifted and expanded over time. Eric Miller, in At Our Leisure (New York: EPM Communications, Inc., 1997), depicted recreation and leisure in the United States in the 1950s as an expression of comfort; it rounded out lives and reaffirmed the importance of home and family. During the 1960s it acquired an identity of its own apart from "traditional values.&#…
The nature of modern work has a significant impact on the types of activities people pursue in their free time. For instance, workers whose jobs keep them in front of a computer monitor for many hours a day often seek physical activities to offset the many hours they are required to sit. Conversely, people whose jobs require many hours on their feet welcome an opportunity to relax at the end of th…
According to Jeffrey Ziegler in the article "Recreating Retirement: How Will Baby Boomers Reshape Leisure in Their 60s" (Parks & Recreation, October 2002), the leisure interests of "baby boomers" (those born between 1946 and 1964, when the U.S. birth rate peaked) were different from those of the generations that preceded them. Writing about how baby boomers would…
From ancient times, sports have played a role in defining manhood. Powerful men displayed their status and wealth by building horseracing tracks or sponsoring sporting events, while humbler ones gained a sense of power, prowess, masculinity, and sometimes wealth as participants or spectators in games. Despite differences in social rank, sports united men in a shared patriarchal culture. Athletics …
Americans are living longer and are generally healthier. More people are able physically and, increasingly, financially to participate in recreational activities. Older adults are a growing market in the sales of many consumer items, including recreational vehicles, sporting goods, books, and computers. Lack of physical exercise not only contributes to the risk of heart disease but also increases …
Ancient teachings are replete with claims of the benefits of recreational experiences: "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine" (Proverbs) and "You can learn more about a man in an hour of play than in a lifetime of conversation" (Plato). But starting in the nineteenth century, such principles began to be applied in health care settings in a purposeful, organized mann…
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