Stefan Poser

[Leola]

Leisuretime constitutes a period of free time that may be spent in any manner one chooses. It provides a framework for a very wide scope of individual leisure activities: from pro-active to passive pursuits; from personal productivity to ostentatious consumption; from relaxing, quiet activities at home such as reading to making music and attending and/or throwing techno parties; from indoor activities such as watching TV or playing computer games to going to restaurants, fairs and museums; and, finally, from shopping and participating in outdoor sports to space tourism. These are activities that occur in very different contexts and circumstances, some of which can only be undertaken with the aid of some type of technology. Historical research on these highly individualised leisure-time activities, their transformation and the period-specific activities of individuals can be just as informative as analyses of the social, economic and technological conditions that influenced them.

Leisure time appears to have been first distinguished from heteronomous learning within the context of the school system. Over the course of industrialisation, the concept was subsequently contrasted with gainful employment.1 Recognising that people had free time even before the concept of "leisure" was formulated, it is useful to look more closely at its availability and how it was utilised in the more distant past.2

Enlightenment ideas about freedom and human development contributed greatly to the positive conception of leisure time as an interval that should be spent productively and further the individual education.3 From the mid-19th century onward, the availability of leisure time generally continued to increase. As this article demonstrates, the hallmark of most leisure-time activities, at least since the beginning of industrialisation, has been the interpenetration of leisure and technology. This has occurred because the gains in productivity resulting from technology's use have led to an increase in time and money, the principal commodities that make participation in leisure possible. Whether watching TV at home or taking a holiday flight, leisure-time activities have been increasingly influenced by technology. Technology, as a consequence, has become more and more connected with both the economical conditions for the possibility of leisure and with the actual leisure-time activities themselves. After first illustrating the evolution of "leisure" as a concept, this article will examine the theoretical and social debate surrounding the phenomenon of leisure time as part of an increasingly technological world.

Early statistical studies on patterns of consumption and leisure were done in the United States at the turn of the 20th century. In Western European countries it was only in the 1950s, as the leisure phenomenon began to enjoy greater public awareness, that similar studies were conducted.26 Today, leisure research has become a fixture of numerous academic disciplines such as education, sociology, history, geography, media studies, economics and engineering. Leisure education and leisure sociology developed as sub-disciplines. "Leisure Studies" emerged as a transdisciplinary area of research in the United States in the 1930s.27 The above-mentioned approaches to leisure-time research encompass concepts that either have a formative influence on leisure or observe and analyse its development, depending on the discipline that employs them. This has led to correspondingly diverse theoretical assumptions and objectives. Not only the growing importance of leisure influenced the development of leisure oriented science; changing societal priorities influenced both, leisure and science. As a result of leisure's economic importance, for example, the issue of environmentally sustainable leisure became significant for leisure activities as well as for research on leisure in the century's final decades.28

Traditional forms of leisure-time activities have included dancing, various kinds of celebrations, visiting fairs and taverns, attending opera and the theatre, as well as reading, painting and playing music. Beginning in the 18th century, Grand Tours (educational excursions that were at first reserved for the nobility) and attending salons became common, as did visits to museums at the turn of the 19th century.29 Finally, strolling through the city came to be a classic pastime in the 19th century. With the growth of cities during industrialisation, not only cities turned into tourist attractions, but also ostensibly untouched natural areas as alternative realities to human-engineered urban environments.30 Numerous sports were adopted from England in the second half of the 19th century and quickly spread across the continent.31 The period before the First World War shows evidence of efforts being made to engage many people in sports and to establish a link between leisure sports and health.32

Emerging counter trends became increasingly important as well, including such recent health-oriented leisure-time activities as ayurveda and wellness. "Chilling" developed as a form of cultivated inactivity. A typical trait of all above-mentioned activities is that even though their contents are subject to processes of modernisation, few actually became "extinct". New, different and often technology-oriented approaches are instead introduced to the activities, supplementing older ones which may indeed lose their appeal.

The growth of leisure-time travel had an impact on individual leisure-time activities and consumer demand. Technology made new kinds of events possible such as film screenings and also brought larger audiences to more traditional events. In the 1930s, when concerts could first be supported by sound systems, it also became possible to have performances on large open-air stages or in sports arenas. As radio and, later, television broadcasts hit the air waves, the size of the potential audience expanded even further. More recently, performances have been enhanced by multi-media presentations on large screens. Musical experiences changed along with the development of new media. Some directors saw the artistic potential of incorporating sound's new acoustic possibilities into their productions such as by using music at different moments to augment certain scenes.50 The composers' and performers' experimentations with technology not only influenced potential concert goers, but also opened the way to novel kinds of creativity.51

The public response to early aviation contests was remarkable. Although still in its "experimental stage" in 1909, the fledgling sport attracted 150,000 visitors at the Berliner Flugwoche (Berlin air show).55 Air showsbecame enormous festival events with massive appeal, which, despite the significant risk of accidents, contributed to the excitement surrounding technology and the airplane's almost mystical conception.56 From a technological point of view, this era of multiple mishaps and short flights of only a few minutes was a crucial testing phase and opportunity for firing up the public's imagination. While the concern here was with the further evolution of a new technology, rowing, another propulsion technology that was centuries-old and had slowly been made superfluous by roads and steamships, was only developed further for competitive and recreational sports. Boats that were intended for transporting passengers and cargo were utilised for the first rowing regattas. Already in the 19th century, the boat's construction was transformed for sports activities and rowing boats became the fastest muscle-powered vessels on water. While those boats were made from wood, key developments of the vessel's construction in the 20th century were based on the introduction of new materials like glass-fibre and carbon-fibre reinforced plastics. The extent to which the rowing boat's construction possibilities were modified and refined for the sake of sport and leisure is indicated in an overstated account from 1886 in the German sports newspaper Deutsche Turnerzeitung:

The enjoyment of particular technologies during leisure time gives users a chance to identify with their devices. Under some conditions, the scope of identification may expand to include the forming of relationships with others in social groups. In the 1950s, for example, young people acquired motorcycles in order to meet up at certain locations, attend concerts or take trips. These social gatherings obtained additional significance from the frequent discussions about the vehicles and the shared experience of mobility as a form of freedom. The motorcycle is especially easy to identify with, as it is a technical cult object that allows the thrilling experience of movement and conveys a sense of symbiosis between man and machine.68 This quality was reinforced in the 1970s as the motorcycle's image changed from being an everyday mode of transport to a leisure-time vehicle.69 Inline skates, whose earliest stages of development date back to the 1960s, also present an opportunity for identification and for the coming together of like-minded people. While experienced skaters judge their peers' technical knowledge on the basis of their equipment and its wear, social circles are distinguished by the use of certain skates and accessories.70 Other, completely different examples for leisure activities that lead to group cohesiveness are do-it-yourself restoration projects or tinkering with cars. Just as with the motorcycle enthusiasts, the technological artefact here is front and centre. A further example of this is found in the early 1970s when the private maintenance of vintage automobiles started to gain popularity. This activity went beyond constant tinkering to include the formation of the necessary network of kindred spirits. In contrast to the motorcycle, the process of identification in this case has less to do with the act of driving the "beloved object"71 than with looking at it while lying below the chassis during the repair process.

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