Recreation
Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time.[1] The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology.[2] Recreational activities are often done for enjoyment, amusement, or pleasure and are considered to be "fun".
Etymology
The term recreation appears to have been used in English first in the late 14th century, first in the sense of "refreshment or curing of a sick person",[3] and derived turn from Latin (re: "again", creare: "to create, bring forth, beget").
Prerequisites to leisure
People spend their time on
Play, recreation and work
Recreation is difficult to separate from the general concept of play, which is usually the term for children's recreational activity. Children may playfully imitate activities that reflect the realities of adult life. It has been proposed that play or recreational activities are outlets of or expression of excess energy, channeling it into socially acceptable activities that fulfill individual as well as societal needs, without need for compulsion, and providing satisfaction and pleasure for the participant.[8] A traditional view holds that work is supported by recreation, recreation being useful to "recharge the battery" so that work performance is improved.
Work, an activity generally performed out of economic necessity and useful for society and organized within the economic framework, however can also be pleasurable and may be self-imposed thus blurring the distinction to recreation. Many activities in entertainment are work for one person and recreation for another. Over time, a recreational activity may become work, and vice versa. Thus, for a musician, playing an instrument may be at one time a profession, and at another a recreation.
Similarly, it may be difficult to separate education from recreation as in the case of recreational mathematics.[9]
Health and recreation
Recreation has many health benefits, and, accordingly, Therapeutic Recreation has been developed to take advantage of this effect. The National Council for Therapeutic Recreation Certification (NCTRC) is the nationally recognized credentialing organization for the profession of Therapeutic Recreation. Professionals in the field of Therapeutic Recreation who are certified by the NCTRC are called "Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialists". The job title "Recreation Therapist" is identified in the U.S. Dept of Labor's Occupation Outlook. Such therapy is applied in
Forms and activities
Recreation is an essential part of human life and finds many different forms which are shaped naturally by individual interests but also by the surrounding social construction.[2] Recreational activities can be communal or solitary, active or passive, outdoors or indoors, healthy or harmful, and useful for society or detrimental. Some recreational activities – such as gambling, recreational drug use, or delinquent activities – may violate societal norms and laws. A list of typical activities could be almost endless.
Hobby
A significant section of recreational activities are designated as
Bricolage
Games
Any structured form of play could become a game. Games are played sometimes purely for recreation, sometimes for achievement or monetary rewards as well. They are played for recreation alone, in teams, or online; by amateurs. Professionals can play as part of their work for entertainment of the audience. The games could be board games, puzzles, computer or video games.
Outdoor recreation
Recreation engaged in out of doors, most commonly in natural settings. The activities themselves — such as
Other traditional examples of outdoor recreational activities include
Performing arts
Dance
Participatory dance whether it be a
provide recreation for all age groups and cultures.Music creation
Music is composed and performed for many purposes, ranging from recreation, religious or ceremonial purposes, or for entertainment. When music was only available through sheet music scores, such as during the Classical and Romantic eras in Europe, music lovers would buy the sheet music of their favourite pieces and songs so that they could perform them at home on their instruments.
Playing video games
Video games are immersive experiences that leave some of the aesthetics to be defined by the player while reserving the author's authority on the latter.[18]
Visual arts
Woodworking, photography,
Drawing
Drawing goes back at least 16,000 years to Paleolithic cave representations of animals such as those at Lascaux in France and Altamira in Spain. In ancient Egypt, ink drawings on papyrus, often depicting people, were used as models for painting or sculpture. Drawings on Greek vases, initially geometric, later developed to the human form with black-figure pottery during the 7th century BC.[19]
With paper becoming common in Europe by the 15th century, drawing was adopted by masters such as Sandro Botticelli, Raphael, Michelangelo, and Leonardo da Vinci who sometimes treated drawing as an art in its own right rather than a preparatory stage for painting or sculpture.[20]
Literature
Writing may involve letters, journals and web blogs. In the US, about half of all adults read one or more books for pleasure each year.[21] About 5% read more than 50 books per year.[21]
Painting
Like drawing, painting has its documented origins in caves and on rock faces. The finest examples, believed by some to be 32,000 years old, are in the
Photography
An amateur photographer practices photography as a hobby/passion and not for monetary profit. The quality of some amateur work may be highly specialized or eclectic in choice of subjects. Amateur photography is often pre-eminent in photographic subjects which have little prospect of commercial use or reward. Amateur photography grew during the late 19th century due to the popularization of the Hand-held camera.[23] Nowadays it has spread widely through social media and is carried out throughout different platforms and equipment, including the use of cell phone. Clear pictures can now be taken with a cell phone which is a key tool for making photography more accessible to everyone.
Organized recreation
Many recreational activities are organized, typically by public institutions, voluntary group-work agencies, private groups supported by membership fees, and commercial enterprises.[24] Examples of each of these are the National Park Service, the YMCA, the Kiwanis, and Walt Disney World. Public space such as parks and beaches are essential venues for many recreational activities and Tourism has recognized that many visitors are specifically attracted by recreational offerings.[25] In particular, beach and waterfront promenades such as the beach area of Venice Beach in California, the Promenade de la Croisette in Cannes, the Promenade des Anglais in Nice or the lungomare of Barcola with Miramare Castle in Trieste are important recreational areas for the city population on the one hand and on the other also important tourist destinations with all advantages and disadvantages for the locals.
In support of recreational activities government has taken an important role in their creation, maintenance, and organization, and whole industries have developed merchandise or services. Recreation-related business is an important factor in the economy; it has been estimated that the outdoor recreation sector alone contributes $730 billion annually to the U.S. economy and generates 6.5 million jobs.[26]
Recreation center
A recreation center is a place for recreational activities usually administered by a municipal government agency. Swimming, basketball, weightlifting, volleyball and kids' play areas are very common.[27][28]
Recreation as a career
A recreation specialist would be expected to meet the recreational needs of a community or assigned interest group. Educational institutions offer courses that lead to a degree as a
In the United States, most states have a professional organization for continuing education and certification in recreation management. The National Recreation and Park Association administers a certification program called the CPRP (Certified Park and Recreation Professional)[29] that is considered a national standard for professional recreation specialist practices.
e-commerce
Since the beginning of the 2000s, there are more and more online booking / ticketing platforms for recreational activities that emerged. Many of them leveraged the ever-growing prevalence of internet, mobile devices and e-payments to build comprehensive online booking solutions. The first successful batch includes tourist recreation activities platform like
See also
- Adventure recreation
- Amusement
- Art
- Entertainment
- Fun
- Hobby
- Lack of physical education
- National Recreation Area
- Play
- R&R (military)
- Recreation area
- Recreation room
- Social determinants of health
- Social determinants of mental health
- Social determinants of health in poverty
- Tourist attraction
- Work-life balance
References
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- ^ ISBN 978-0-312-12500-4.
- ^ "Online Etymology Dictionary".
- ^ Yukic TS (1970) p. 2
- ^ Claudia Wallis (1983-06-06), "Stress: Can We Cope?", Time, archived from the original on January 4, 2007, retrieved October 31, 2010
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7637-0756-9.
- ^ Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 24 (Text of Resolution), adopted by the United Nations General Assembly (A/RES/217, 10 December 1948 at Palais de Chaillot, Paris)
- ^ Yukic TS, 1970, pp. 3f
- ^ Kulkarni, D. Enjoying Math: Learning Problem Solving With KenKen Puzzles Archived 2013-08-01 at the Wayback Machine, A textbook for teaching with KenKen Puzzles.
- PMID 3535406.
- ^ PMID 21030330.
- PMID 11440967.
- ^ Wolf & McQuitty (2011). "Understanding the Do-It-Yourself Consumer: DIY Motivation and Outcomes". Academy of Marketing Science Review
- ^ Wolf & McQuitty (2011)
- ^ Thomas MacMillan (April 30, 2012). "On State Street, "Maker" Movement Arrives". New Haven Independent.
- ^ "Makers UPV: making locally, winning globally | Startup Europe". startupeuropeclub.eu. Archived from the original on 2016-08-21. Retrieved 2016-08-12.
- ISBN 978-0-9891511-0-8.
- ^ "Video games as performance art".
- ^ History of Drawing. From Dibujos para Pintar. Archived 2010-11-20 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 23 October 2009.
- History.com. 2006. Archived from the originalon 14 March 2009. Retrieved 23 October 2009.
- ^ a b Pinsker, Joe (2019-09-19). "Why Some People Become Lifelong Readers". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
- ^ History of Painting. From History World. Retrieved 23 October 2009.
- S2CID 216590139.
- ^ Yucik TS, 1970, pp. 62ff
- ^ Queensland Government. "What is Recreation?". Archived from the original on April 1, 2009. Retrieved October 31, 2010.
- ^ Rechner (March 11, 2010). "Letter to the Editor: Outdoor recreation stimulates the economy". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 2, 2010.
- ^ Recreation Centers, Clearwater, FL
- ^ Recreation Centers, New York City Department of Parks & Recreation
- ^ "Certified Park and Recreation Professional (CPRP) Certification". National Recreation and Park Association. Retrieved 6 November 2010.