Adolescent Leisure Activities
Factors associated with adolescents’ leisure time influence the kind of people they become. Case studies show leisure activities are designed as an extension of a total school programme aimed at the development of human excellence.
We know that it is important to pay attention to the quality and nature of adolescents’ leisure time because of documented evidence that how they spend their leisure time in adolescence is predictive of their leisure choices as adults, even into middle or old age (Scott and Willits, 1998).
This evidence suggests that if they are encouraged to engage in physically, mentally and emotionally healthy activities as adolescents they will develop healthy habits that will last into adulthood.
While leisure time occupies 40% of the waking time of adolescents, it is still an area that is relatively underinvestigated, particularly with respect to qualitative dimensions (Passmore & French, 2001).
Leisure activities engaged in
There are different classes of leisure activities that adolescents have been found to engage in. Some of these might be considered healthy whilst others, such as excessive time spent in amusement arcades, could be considered unhealthy or even addictive.
Amongst the healthy types of leisure are those described by Passmore and French (2001) as “achievement” leisure, that is sports, playing music, dance, and engagement in hobbies and creative arts; and “time-out” leisure (for example, listening to music, watching television, and lying in bed and reviewing the day's events).
They also describe “social” leisure, being in the company of other people, particularly peers, which may or may not be healthy in nature depending on the activity.
