Free Time Analysis

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Whether reading is leisure or not is dependent on the context of the material. If something needs to be read for school, it is not considered a leisure activity since the motivation is external and the participation is mandatory. However, the type of reading that I do on my spare time is considered a leisure activity. I voluntarily choose to spend some of my free time reading. There is no external reward for doing so; just my internal satisfaction with the narrative elements and character development throughout the story. Sometimes it can be difficult to distinguish between recreational activities, leisure activities, and play activities. These different activities overlap in regards to some of their defining characteristics, like …show more content…
Neilinger separates leisure versus non-leisure based on the state of the subject in regards to the activity. If the subject has freedom of choice and is choosing to do a certain activity, it is considered leisure. On the other hand, if there is a constraint on the subject to complete an activity, then it is considered non-leisure. From there, the differences between the six paradigms is dependent on whether the motivation is intrinsic, extrinsic, or both (Russell, 2009). When I am leisure reading, I am reading books of my own choosing, that sparked my interest, on my own time whenever permitted. By this definition, reading for my pleasure falls in the 'pure leisure' category since there is intrinsic motivation for an activity done during my perceived free time. While I still enjoy reading certain materials for classwork and homework, those books and articles would fall under the work-job and pure-job categories. Depending on my motivation for reading, like if it is extra material or required texts, it can fall into either of those categories, but because I would technically have a perceived restraint, the non-leisure columns would be primarily represented with school