To What Extent Do Individuals In Contemporary Society Have Choice Over Their Leisure Activities
To what extent do individuals in contemporary society have choice over their leisure activities. (24 marks) There is great debate about how individuals have choice over their leisure activities. I for one believe that it depends greatly on personal preference for the leisure activities we partake in. Yet class or social status can also have a slight influence upon these factors.
Postmodernists, such as Lyotard (1984), believe that the boundaries between social class and leisure have become blurred, therefore clear links between class and leisure activities no longer exist. As a consequence of this, Postmodernists say that regardless of the social class we are a part of, we all have the ability to 'Pick and Choose' how we spend our leisure time.
Yet surely the leisure activities that we take part in cannot purely be …show more content…
They believe that occupation or social class influences the leisure activities that we can choose. Marxists such as Parker believe in the idea of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Rewards. For example the manual Working Class jobs are done for extrinsic rewards, those that provide an escape from work, whereas middle class or white collar jobs provide more intrinsic rewards, those that allow leisure activity to link with work.
Parkers theory also has valid points, but he over-emphasizes the importance that work has in shaping our leisure activity. His research is also something that is not generalisable, because it is focused primarily on men in full time paid employment.
Two other Marxists, Clarke and Critcher (1995) point out that leisure has now become a commercialized multinational industry that is also highly organised. The fact that we now live in a media-saturated society creates a high demand for 'must-have' products, meaning that choice over leisure pursuits is constantly being taken away from individuals. This is because of the medias ideological power which is controlled by the
Postmodernists, such as Lyotard (1984), believe that the boundaries between social class and leisure have become blurred, therefore clear links between class and leisure activities no longer exist. As a consequence of this, Postmodernists say that regardless of the social class we are a part of, we all have the ability to 'Pick and Choose' how we spend our leisure time.
Yet surely the leisure activities that we take part in cannot purely be …show more content…
They believe that occupation or social class influences the leisure activities that we can choose. Marxists such as Parker believe in the idea of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Rewards. For example the manual Working Class jobs are done for extrinsic rewards, those that provide an escape from work, whereas middle class or white collar jobs provide more intrinsic rewards, those that allow leisure activity to link with work.
Parkers theory also has valid points, but he over-emphasizes the importance that work has in shaping our leisure activity. His research is also something that is not generalisable, because it is focused primarily on men in full time paid employment.
Two other Marxists, Clarke and Critcher (1995) point out that leisure has now become a commercialized multinational industry that is also highly organised. The fact that we now live in a media-saturated society creates a high demand for 'must-have' products, meaning that choice over leisure pursuits is constantly being taken away from individuals. This is because of the medias ideological power which is controlled by the