SocioCultural Factors influencing Recreation and Leisure

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Socio-Cultural Factors Influencing Recreation and Leisure
Recreation can be defined as the activities that people undertake for pleasure and to refresh their minds. On the other hand, leisure can be said for the free time that people have to spent when not at work instead they spend it doing activities that they love such as watching movies sleeping or playing. Leisure and recreation are important for health purpose such as physical fitness. However, the two can be affected by social, cultural activities in our society. This paper will outline the factors that influence recreation and leisure and find a solution to these barriers.
Age is one factor that influences our ability for recreation and leisure. During the early stages of life, many people get the opportunity to do leisure activities since there are fewer responsibilities to be carried out. Research has shown that children advance from one play to another according to their age. Modernization has contributed a lot to seeing children grow fast physically unlike in the past. This gives the children longer time to enjoy leisure and recreation in their childhood. The introduction of a comprehensive schooling system has ensured that teenagers have an opportunity to enjoy recreation and leisure. Through holidays and recreation subjects introduced in schools makes sure that adolescent boys and girls have free time before they get to the adult stage. The adult stage can be very involving due to family and work responsibilities.

Although this age has a lot of responsibilities, some adults are making decisions to enter into family life later to enable them to have some time for recreation and leisure. To add on too, late marriages majority are choosing to have fewer kids to minimize on the duties. When people become older, they have a chance to enjoy more free time full of many activities. Early retirement policies and investment knowledge have seen old people enjoy their old life in style due to lack of many duties and availability of finances. Nonetheless, there are barriers which prohibit people at different ages a chance to enjoy leisure. For example, children can fail to enjoy recreation due to the parenting system they go through while others due to violence and abuse in the society don’t get the chance to enjoy. Besides, issues such as early marriages, big families, and work act as barriers to enjoyment of leisure (McLean et al. n. p).
The topic of gender and equality has been emerging in the current society especially when it comes to discussions on education, property ownership and leadership positions. However, gender also influences our leisure and recreation. Research shows that leisure and recreation have been divided in the society according to gender roles. Mostly the society has occupied women with too many family responsibilities until they have no time for recreation activities. Many women have their time consumed by activities like cooking and washing, parenting the children and taking care of their husbands alongside managing their careers. The culture of ‘male dominion’ in the society makes women adjust their time to grant their wishes came to adjusting their schedule to fit in their children needs. Such responsibilities make it tough for women to enjoy a free time. Nevertheless, women have taken this challenge and decided to find a way to have recreation. Mostly women dominated most of their children lives and take part in their activities. Therefore in most cases, their children’s activities become theirs too. They participate in their sports, acting and also in their dancing activities. In addition, the family also takes much of women’s time making them concentrate on their family activities as their leisure and recreation time, for example, watching movies with their family, having dinner and family fun moments. By viewing their roles in such a different dimension makes them counter the barriers of gender in enjoying leisure and recreation (Thompson et al. 430).
Sexual Orientation includes the lesbians, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) in the society. Many cases of discrimination against this group of people have been recorded in the modern society. The act of discrimination against LGBT has been the greatest barrier to their ability to enjoy their leisure and recreation programs like the heterosexual. Cases of bullying whenever they try and enjoy this right in public discourage them from coming out. In activities like sports, research has shown that LGBT faced public embarrassment in Bradford and Barron. However, despite all the degradation they have gone through, measures have being put into place to ensure that LGBT enjoy their recreational rights. For example, a law has been put into place that makes the recreation program and Leisure Park serve all people despite their sexual orientation. Another example that fights this barrier is a gay football club that was established in the UK to help Gay men show the world that they can play football just like other men. LGBT have also come up with empowerment clubs that give them the motivation to be confident instead of being alcoholics and taking drugs as a way of overcoming loneliness and rejection (Crawford et al. 120).
The race of a person shown from the genes that they possess mostly characterized by eye color, skin pigmentation and hair color. On the other hand, ethnicity is acquired from generation to the other through the passage of traditions such as customs, language, and religion. The racial and ethnic identity of a person can influence one’s leisure and recreation life. Research has shown that there are issues that mostly prohibit some races and diverse ethnic groups. The limitation to access of resources is a blockade to them accessing recreating facilities and modern infrastructure. Research shows that this minority groups such as Latinos live in the urban areas hence they have limited access to activities like fishing which mostly happens in rural areas. In addition, research by Dunn and colleagues showed that Hispanics could not access lakes because they lacked money for transportation and knowledge that the lakes existed. Immigration is also an obstacle to the enjoyment of leisure since it sometimes leads to language problem to the place of migration making the people not to understand each other. In a case of emergency during recreational activity lack of communication can cause big losses. Finally, discrimination of people of different race and ethnic groups can hinder people from taking part in leisure activities because they fear humiliation. Still, some people rise above these challenges and enjoy their leisure by making other races and communities want to learn their cultures and traditions (Crawford et al. 125).
Socio-Economic status is a classification of people depending on their wealth status in the society. People from the same position in an employment tend to have leisure such as touring a place or a country and do not mostly mind the amount they spend due to their high incomes, unlike low-income earners who mostly watch television. People with the same level of education tend to spend time together talking about their achievements and studies and also reading books. Professional athletes have their leisure occupied by practices while the wealthy people can, for example, join a golf club. Therefore, low income can be an obstruction to accessing a good recreation activity. The friends that we have also play a major role in the type of leisure activities that we engage in (McLean et al. n. p).
Having learned the barriers to recreational and leisure in the population, some measures can be put in place to reduce such blockages. One of the measures is to educate LGBT on their rights in the community. Also, informing LGBT the confidence that they have equal opportunities and are entitled to equality just like heterosexuals. In addition, a program should be put in place to educate the community on accepting people of different races, ethnic diversities, and LGBT in the society. Additionally, employers can introduce programs that can make employees participate in their areas of interest such as team building to encounter the barrier of long working hours. Besides, training on how to manage work-life balance should be introduced at companies so as to encourage employees to take part in recreational activities. Furthermore, parents should regulate the amount of time their children spend on laptops, television, and studies and encourage them to do outdoor activities such as playing with others. Introduce a training program to inform men on their role as fathers so as to help mothers have time for recreational activities. Finally, the health sector can play an essential part by creating awareness to the local community on the health benefits acquired from recreational and leisure activities.
References
McLean, Daniel, and Amy Hurd. Kraus’ Recreation and leisure in modern society. Jones &
Bartlett Publishers, 2011.
Thompson, Angela M., Laurene A. Rehman, and M. Louise Humbert. “Factors influencing the
physically active leisure of children and youth: A qualitative study.” Leisure Sciences
27.5 (2005): 421-438.
Crawford, Duane W., and Geoffrey Godbey. “Reconceptualizing barriers to family leisure.”
Leisure Sciences 9.2 (1987): 119-127.