Leisure from the youth perspective: A qualitative analysis of high school students’ time diary

Abstract

In this paper, we explore high school students’ intrapersonal experiences regarding their leisure activities, and whether it is justified, on the basis of their perception, to make a distinction between active and passive leisure. The data were collected by 24-hour time diary method (description of experiences regarding the stated activities) and the thematic content analysis method was applied. The comments embed-ded in students’ descriptions (unit of analysis) were classified into four categories: aims/importance of activities, mental effort, motivational value and experience of engagement. The sample of 922 high school students was structured by the region, age (I-IV grade) and type of school (grammar and vocational schools). As expected, extracurricular activities and hobbies are significantly more often described as men-tally demanding and important for the development of competencies and identity, compared to passive leisure activities – watching entertainment shows and movies, reading for pleasure, listening to music and playing computer games. For these lat-ter activities, there are significantly more positive comments on their motivational value. There is no significant difference regarding the experience of engagement, partly because of the unexpectedly large number of positive comments on watching entertainment shows and movies. The implications of these findings are discussed from the perspective of positive youth development.