Home-based digital leisure: Doing the same leisure activities, but digital

Abstract

The introduction of the information and communication technologies in the home has transformed free-time leisure activities. Adopting a constructivist and interpretive perspective, we analysed 30 individual narratives in order to describe how digital technologies have transformed home-based leisure activities. The findings show that the changes brought about are qualitatively different from those produced by previous technological devices. The digital technologies have not only increased exposure to different experiences, they also allow people to control those experiences. The consumption of experiences is no longer homogeneous among household members and individuals now have greater freedom regarding their choice of home-based leisure activities. The findings of this study, suggest that digital leisure has transformed home-based leisure, can be used to understand home-based leisure technologies. Further studies are required to explore home-based digital leisure in other areas of people’s lives as digital technologies, devices and applications evolve.

Keywords:

• leisure
• digital leisure
• home leisure
• leisure satisfaction
• sociology of leisure

Public Interest Statement

Internet and digital technologies came to stay at people’s homes, with effects in all spheres of their lives. Computers, video game consoles, tablets, smartphones and other devices were domesticated and adapted to everyday routines, changing some dynamics at home. One of those changes is the use of Internet and the digital devices for leisure and entertainment activities. Now digital technologies replace traditional or common technologies as TV’s or radios, transforming leisure experiences at home. This article explains how a group of 30 people in Barcelona – Spain, live that transformations, shows how they use digital technologies to expand their possibilities of leisure at home and describe the satisfactions, values and benefits they find in the activities that are called as digital leisure in this document.

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank our informants, the editor and the anonymous reviewers. Ailish Maher assisted with the English in a version of this manuscript.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jordi López-Sintas

Jordi López-Sintas has a PhD in business economics. Professor of marketing and consumer research. Senior researcher at the Centre for Studies and Research in Humanities and the principal researcher in the Consumption, Markets and Culture Research Group.

Laura Rojas-DeFrancisco

Laura Rojas-DeFrancisco has a PhD in humanities. Assistant professor and researcher at the Universidad EAFIT and fellow researcher at the Consumption, Markets and Culture Research Group from the Autonomous University of Barcelona.

Ercilia García-Álvarez

Ercilia García-Álvarez has a PhD in economics. Full Professor. Senior researcher at the Centre for Studies and Research in Humanities, and member of the Consumption, Markets and Culture Research Group.