Lack Of Time! Perception or Reality
There is a common perception that people today have less time for leisure activities, but recent data suggests otherwise. Everyone has the same amount of free time when you account for work, commuting and other responsibilities. Social interaction has also become increasingly online which may explain why people do not feel like they have less free time than in the past.
As social interactions are happening online more, some of them appear to be replacing face-to-face interactions which further create the feeling that one does not have as much free time as before. However, without adjusting for these changes in role of social interaction it would be impossible to provide an accurate analysis on how many hours people spend outside their homes each day.
In the past, people were considered to have spare time within a day when they were not working or performing other duties. The concept of leisure time has changed over the years as major responsibilities that did not exist in earlier periods. Data collected from surveys that examine self-reported activities shows that people who live in urban areas tend to have more free time than those who live in rural areas. This can be attributed to the fact that rural residents often work at home and are responsible for transportation of farm products and other items on their own. This is also why there seems to be less free time for residents in urban areas because they commute longer distances between their homes and workplace as well as commute more during weekdays compared to their rural counterparts.
A study conducted by the National Science Foundation and National Center for Education Statistics shows that most people feel they have enough time to do things they enjoy. However, people arrive at that conclusion in an implicit fashion as they are unaware of how closely each activity is related to their desired outcome and when it is most suitable.
Study authors say the findings from their data show that priorities change over time. In older adults, both leisure activities and work hours are usually limited. As a result, those who truly have spare time are those with family members nearby or if convenience allows for more spontaneity when getting together with friends.
My comments: I am 70 years old, and I have noticed a sudden change in this 30 year trend. I have no family nearby and don't think my daily activities are that spontaneous. But I also don't do much of anything when it's free, other than watch television and read book or magazine.
In my opinion, what used to be called "working hours" is much more relaxing now because of the use of technology. For instance, in my younger days there were only a few minutes between the end of work until I could leave the office... Now I can check emails, read blog postings and even search for recreational activities while at work (some employers allow this). Cell phones and smart phones have also made it possible to be more flexible with one's schedule... checking in from the road. So I can say that there is not less free time now, but certainly more liberated time.
This article is about relationships. It says that people have not changed much over the years in their desire for social contact; we still spend a lot of time with family and friends when we are young, and then we are disappointed when this falls off as a function of age. Of course I am going to tell you... YES!!! There has been a great fall-off in social interaction as people get older because they move away from family or friends after college or work... and then waste the rest of their lives with solitude. This is entirely wrong, and a tragic fallacy.
In my experience, most people over 65 do spend time with their family or friends... but that's because they live under the same roof. They are still involved in life around them somehow... and yet spend their afternoons lounging on the sofa watching TV, playing board games or doing crossword puzzles (the oldies). But I know many people who do go out to lunch occasionally, go shopping once a month or just see their friends for coffee every other week.
The key is to always have some social interaction... no matter what... because people are lonely. I'll give you an example. I saw an old friend earlier this week, who I hadn't seen for 40 years... he's a successful attorney in his 60's, and he had just moved to the new apartment complex I described in another post. We had a nice chat, and it was great to see him again... we talked about the old days and reminisced about photos of our college days (e.g., on my newspaper article about retirement).
For me, social interaction is not necessarily relaxation... it's an important part of leading a happy life. I don't need a lot of social interaction, but it's nice to have some.
Debra from the Washington Post is conducting a poll on how people perceive their time... are they working hard to "keep up with the Joneses" and feel like they don't have enough free time... or are they just more aware of the things that waste their time? Read this article and then follow the link to take the survey: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/on-leadership/wp/2014/03/04/from-the-front-burner-how-people-feel-about-their-time/?tid=pm_world_pop
This is a very thought provoking article about how people view their spare time compared to their working hours. I agree that there is an issue with perception and the way that we use our time. It's not enough to know how many hours people report spending in different activities (even though this is hard enough to measure), we need to actually watch them in real life and see if they are really working or relaxing when they report certain things. For instance, it is possible to lie about watching sports on TV at the end of each day... after all, these people may be watching TV when they say they are resting. Do you agree or disagree with this article? Please share your comments below.
A new study suggests that Americans have more free time than they think. ...or at least more time than they're willing to admit.
The report, published in the Journal of Applied Psychology and conducted by researchers from Michigan State University and Florida State University, looked at how much time men and women spend in leisure activities (such as watching TV and playing sports) compared with work activities (such as working, commuting to work, cooking meals or doing housework). The researchers asked participants to estimate how much time they spend in each of these two broad categories during a typical weekday, and found that men tended to underestimate how much time they spent in leisure compared with women. In reality, men spent more than four hours per day on leisure activities, while women spent 3.5 hours per day on leisure activities. Meanwhile, women reported spending more time working than men did -- just under three hours per day as opposed to less than three hours for men.
When comparing the results against self-reported surveys conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the researchers found that Americans on average are shrugging off their work responsibilities and relaxing more than they think they are.
Conclusion: It seems that women are more honest with themselves about the leisure time they enjoy.
"People tend to think they work more than they do," said Frank P. Stafford, a professor of sociology at Florida State University and one of the researchers on the study. "Men especially."
I personally believe that men should admit that they spend too much time on leisure activities, and women should admit that their shopping is a problem when both sexes are asked how much time they spend working or relaxing during the week. Which of these activities do you think takes longer, working or relaxing? Please share your comments below.
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