The Leisure mapping essay Social Sciences Essay Paper

Leisure Mapping
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Introduction
Leisure refers to the time when one is free or when an individual is free. Ordinarily, during leisure, people choose to participate in activities that they like and not those that they must do. It is important to mention that the quality of leisure time may vary depending on an individual’s responsibilities. As a result, both the young and the elderly normally have more leisure time than the working population. Leisure is essential in our daily lives because when we are involved in satisfying leisure activities we tend to gain a sense of freedom, control, creativity, and achievements. This paper outlines and explains some of the sociocultural factors that influence leisure activities.
Leisure time measure the time we set aside socializing, exercising our minds and bodies and pursuing our own interests. Leisure may be categorized into types, active leisure; this is interactive and engaging and it involves activities such as going to gym, swimming, playing football and other physically and mentally stimulating activities. On the other side, passive leisure involves activities which provide relaxation which is vital for mental health. It is also keynoting that passive leisure includes activities which require little effort such as watching television, going to the cinema among others.
From the results of the various research studies regarding leisure time, it is clear that there are several socio-cultural factors that may affect the time people spend relaxing. These factors may include age, gender, socioeconomic status, group interaction, and family. From the first factor, it is crucial to understand that leisure is vital for both young and old people. It is estimated that adults who are over seventy-five years old spend about eight hours per day engaging in leisure activities (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2015). The time spent on leisure as well as the type of activities may change as one gets older. However, there are some leisure activities that do not have age limits. For example, activities such as reading and walking are applicable to both the young and the elderly.
Mostly, young people spend most of their leisure time participating in physical exercises which include training at the gym, cycling, walking, running, swimming and playing football among others. Also, the popularity of independent physical activity increases with age where individuals prefer taking leisure activities alone. On the other side, old people are more involved in less demanding activities and most of their leisure time is spent on activities such as reading newspapers, watching televisions and resting. Being a student, I automatically fall in under the young-adult population, in this group my choice of leisure activities corresponds to those of the young people. From the seven-day time map, it is evident that most of my leisure time is spent on demanding and physical activities such as going to the gym, attending yoga classes and going to kine 1000 laboratory.
Gender may be defined as the socially constructed definition of women and men. Usually, gender is determined by the conception of tasks, functions and the roles attributed to men and women in the society and in both public ...