Leisure and the Modularization of Daily Life

Abstract

The modularization of daily life refers to the growing exchangeability of forms of spending time in the unwinding of daily life (daily paths and life paths) due to increases in the scale of the supply of standardized time-units - filled with more or less predictable, calculable and re-combinable activities - and the simultaneous growth in the opportunities for individual actors to choose from this supply and reflexively organize their daily lives. After having introduced this concept, its relation to leisure is discussed. A distinction is made between having leisure and ways of spending it. In the first case, it is argued that there is no monolithic leisure area, where everybody can do whatever he or she likes. Rather, there exist different leisure-scapes, designating differences in the freedoms people are entitled to, depending on the differences in sources of income. In the second case, the discussion focuses on the relation between leisure and consumption. Particular attention is given to how the search for moral satisfaction shapes the ways people assemble time-modules in their daily life paths.

Finding joy in poor health: The leisure-scapes of chronic illness

“…In the sections below, I explore how the logistical space-time conflicts between chronic illness and leisure shape the leisure-scapes (Van der Poel 1997) open to participants to enjoy. Specifically, I report on themes concerning the shrunken potential path area available for travel, logistical conflicts with local leisure activities, problems of synchronisation for group leisure, and the need to avoid certain places at certain times to protect the body.…”

“…Differences between where, when, and how people enjoy leisure can be conceived in terms of diverse “leisure-scapes” (Van der Poel 1997, 178). Van der Poel proposed that leisure-scapes are closely linked to a person’s social identity and position, and can differ based on normative restrictions on what is appropriate for a particular context (e.g., the meeting places of sexual subcultures), expectations about social positions and roles (e.g., ‘soccer moms’), and the resources individuals can draw from (e.g., finances and social capital) (Van der Poel 1997, 178–179).…”

“…Van der Poel proposed that leisure-scapes are closely linked to a person’s social identity and position, and can differ based on normative restrictions on what is appropriate for a particular context (e.g., the meeting places of sexual subcultures), expectations about social positions and roles (e.g., ‘soccer moms’), and the resources individuals can draw from (e.g., finances and social capital) (Van der Poel 1997, 178–179). For example, the leisure-scape of someone with wealth is likely to feature options for privacy, as money can buy access to time and space away from scrutiny.…”

Free time as a necessary condition of free life

“…In the words of Hugo van der Poel, life takes on a structure of 'modularization' into which different modes of life activity are mechanically inserted' ( Van der Poel, 1997). This modularization is the concretization of empty time outside of work within the leisure/consumer/entertainment industries.…”

Turismo de co-creación, valor añadido en escenarios turísticos

“…Algunos autores hacen referencia al concepto de creatividad para explicar la razón por la cual el consumo está cada vez más impulsado por la necesidad de desarrollo personal (Florida 2002, Richards y Wilson 2006. Basándose en esta necesidad, o como lo denomina Giddens (1990Giddens ( , 1991 en "la construcción o la narrativa de uno mismo", Van der Poel (1993, 1997 ha estudiado la reorganización dinámica de la vida diaria en un contexto de modernidad. Utiliza la expresión "modularización de la vida diaria" para referirse a la creciente intercambiabilidad de la distribución del tiempo.…”