Social leisure in the digital age

© 2016 Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières. The fact that leisure is a social activity is recognized by individuals in this study as well as by researchers both past and present. However, free-time activities differ in their social dimension. Since digital technologies alter the meaning of leisure activities, they may also affect their social properties. In order to examine, within the constructivist/interpretive paradigm, the social properties of digital leisure activities, the authors analyzed the narratives of 30 users of home-based digital technologies for leisure purposes. Their results suggest that digital leisure activities have social properties which differ from those of traditional leisure activities. The social properties of digital technologies transform the meaning of leisure activities, creating interconnected leisure spaces where it is possible to be socially connected and available.