In current society, there exists an unconventional and unusual consumer behavior caused by political, economic and sociocultural changes. This study has selected the leisure activity alone which shows our current society changed. In this study, the gr...
In current society, there exists an unconventional and unusual consumer behavior caused by political, economic and sociocultural changes. This study has selected the leisure activity alone which shows our current society changed. In this study, the group showing these leisure behaviors is defined as ‘leisure-alone folk’ and the study is in understanding the leisure experience of that group appears mainly to people in their 20’s, in the context of our society’s sociocultural, and in revealing the implications.
Five women and four men in their 20s who consider themselves ‘leisure-alone folk’ participated in this study. This study has been conducted through personal interviews from October of 2010 to August of 2011. The interviews were conducted for two hours on average through a couple of times. The interview questions were done in unconstructed style in order to express their experiences and introductory questions and rigorous investigative questions proposed by Kvale(1996) were used to derive more detailed and rich answers. In addition, the text was analyzed be combining and revising the 3 steps suggested by Miles and Huberman(1984) and Dey(1993). the results of this study are as follows.
First, the egocentric leisure experience of ‘leisure-alone folk’ is realized as that could satisfy their narcissism desires. ‘Leisure-alone folk’ tries to obtain thoroughly the personal pleasure and satisfaction through the leisure under the privatized leisure culture. The participants could have their own choice and realize themselves as a human being more precious than others in their leisure experience. This is because the leisure is not for the instrumental purpose so as to maintain a good relationship. The participants positively accept that they would become closed from those around them. That is ‘leisure-alone folk’ becomes closed from surroundings and stimulations around them through the egocentric leisure experience that makes them think themselves only by being immersed in themselves.
Second, the leisure to ‘leisure-alone folk’ is an active act to break away from the repressed everyday life and our current society that causes losing the subjectivity and excessive competition. For young people in their 20s living in the era of limitless competition free from the migration of capital and labor, the leisure activity alone in which nobody else could participate makes people select on their own, which let them recover individuality and autonomy. The leisure experience of ‘leisure-alone folk’, in particular, plays a role in being free from themselves socialized in order to live as the part of society so that they temporally can break away from repressed daily life.
Third, the restrictions such as time related to economic benefits as the critical factor and the space escalated for various life-styles are indicated as the reason that the participants have difficulties in a group leisure activity. ‘Leisure-alone folk’ would select a leisure activity alone to intentionally avoid constraints of time and space instead of efforts to actively surmount these restrictions.
Lastly, using personalized equipment by ‘leisure-alone folk’ in their leisure could enable them to enjoy their leisure in isolation and to access other communities. ‘Leisure-alone folk’ is comprised of mainly young people in their 20s who have been growing up in the independent and personalized environment. Using personalized equipment is noticeable in their twenties. The personalized equipment facilitates independent experiences in their personalized time and also they have accepted positively. Using of these personalized equipment is in their leisure. The personalized equipment has cut themselves off from interacting or coming face to face with others so that they can enable the leisure activity privatized. However, it could lead to maintain and existing relationship or form a new relationship as they can have access to other communities.
According to main results of this study, ‘leisure-alone folk’ reflects characteristics of people in their 20s ,living in current society, who are active in expressing themselves and egocentric. For that reason, the they are not that unusual group observed to only a few. In addition, ‘leisure-alone folk’ pursues personal pleasures for being free from a uniform standard and a stereotyped and routine daily life. Thorough this study, the leisure experience of ‘leisure-alone folk’ reflects that young people pursue individuality and autonomy and that, for young people, the signification of the community has been changed at the same time.