Originally Posted by
Red Rider
Funny replies so far -- I'm assuming they're tongue-in-cheek.
Originally Posted by
billydonn
Godbey spoke of this in the late 70s, calling it
"time deepening", wherein modern life leads people to lose the depth and quality of their leisure by overscheduling themselves and attempting to do too much. Many shallow experiences but no depth of experience.... it is bad news...
Well, I don't think billydonn meant to be humorous. But, I don't think I, at least, am quite there!!
http://www.mountainbike.co.nz/politi...orn/mtbers.htm
Time Deepening
Time deepening is a phenomenon reported by those looking at changes in western lifestyles over time. As people become financially and educationally better off, they have a wider range of choices available to them in their leisure time. These choices are also increased by the market economy, which encourages innovation and invention of new technologies of play and by advertising media such as the television, which increase people's knowledge of their leisure choices. An interesting corollary of this freedom of choice, however, is that time has become the scarce commodity.
Not only has technology increased the possibilities of play, it has also had a major effect on people's work experiences. Computers, for example, have allowed us to do much more in less time and this seems to be "rubbing off" into people's leisure worlds. Goodale and Godbey (1988) suggest the desire to be more efficient with our leisure time has grown alongside the drive for efficiency that is happening in the workplace at present. There also seems to be general approval of those who pack a lot of activity and experience into their lives. However, Goodale and Godbey question how much happier these people are when compared with those who take a more relaxed and measured approach. Taking a wider view, this new achievement-oriented approach to leisure may be a result of a lack of achievement and autonomy in the workplace or, alternatively, a reflection of the values that are espoused there.
Time deepening, then, results in people trying to use leisure time more productively. It can mean doing two activities at once; for example, watching the television and eating a meal at the same time; to calculating the use of time more and more precisely. For example, a three hundred kilometre car trip might be calculated to within 15 minutes of the time it takes. Goodale and Godbey (1988) consider the appearance of fast food outlets an indication of the increased scarcity of time in the modern world. Where once people might have taken an hour over lunch it is more and more common to see people eating and leaving within 15 minutes.
There are many indications that time deepening is occurring. The popularity of mountain-biking seems, in part, to be due to its ability to provide a concentrated physical and mental experience in a short space of time. Interview respondents frequently noted that they could work around home and then go out for a bike ride and "feel as if they had gone tramping for the weekend."
Many interviewees and some questionnaire respondents felt that family and work commitments meant that they could not get away tramping or climbing so mountain-biking provided a reasonable alternative. Mountain-biking was also seen as a good activity for mixing with other pursuits. For example, some windsurfers felt that mountain-biking was the ideal sport for filling in windless days. Mountain-biking, therefore, is seen as a fast, more intense activity that can sometimes substitute for tramping when individuals cannot get into the mountains, or are unable to participate in their first choice of activity.
The advent of endurance running and events such as the Coast to Coast in Arthur's Pass National Park also seem to reflect a desire for higher intensity experience in a shorter time.