Introduction
The word leisure emanates from the Latin word “licere” which is used to describe freedom to do something or to be liberated. There are many definitions of leisure time. According to Stebbins (2007), leisure may imply that time that we usually have at our disposal when we are not bound by any tasks.
Leisure may also imply frivolous and unrestricted time after all the work has been completed. People engage in different leisure activities depending on an individual’s interests and hobbies. Some leisure activities are legal while some are illegal. Some people engage in illegal leisure activities out of peer influence while some make money out of such activities. This paper discusses this form of leisure activities especially at a time when some of the illegal activities have become increasingly profitable.
Categories of Legal Free Time
There are two categories of leisure; active leisure and passive leisure. Active leisure involves the application of body or psychological vigor. Lofty effect actions for instance wrestling and basketball do devour a lot of vigor and may be considered aggressive sports and hence active forms. A number of active free time actions entail nearly no bodily action except that they do necessitate a large psychological endeavor for example playing draft or coloring an image.
Inactive free time actions entail those in which someone doesn’t ply considerable bodily or psychological vigor for instance watching TV and attending cinema theatres. Passive free time actions are excellent means of calming for scores of the populace.
Challenges and Implications of Illegal Leisure Activities
Illegal leisure activities are those which are not permitted by the rule of law or the religious books such as the Bible and Koran depending on an individuals’ inclination. Usually, they do not bring about desirable consequences and their net effect is the degradation of humans’ morals and eventual suffering. Some of the illegal leisure activities within our present-day world comprise engaging in pornography, excessive consumption of alcohol and smoking. In addition, inhalation or injection of illegal drug substances such as bhang and cocaine are destructive ways of engaging leisure time.
Children are most likely to imitate the actions they watch on pornographic materials and this is likely to erode the morals in society. In addition, continuous exposure may lead to addiction and these acts may fuel irresponsible sexual behaviors such as masturbation, sodomy, incest and rape. The consequences of these acts are quite imminent and include imprisonment, contraction of sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV-AIDS, gonorrhea and syphilis (Bull et al., 2003).
Child pornography may also contribute to a high rate of school drop-outs just in case the offenders are convicted. People who engage in child pornography make a lot of cash which makes this illegal leisure activity so stubborn.
Another illegal leisure activity is the excessive consumption of alcohol. This makes someone lose self-control and maybe lethal especially when driving under the influence of alcohol. The majority of road carnages are as a result of drunken driving and consequently reckless driving. People under the influence of alcohol are not able to observe the road rules and will normally ignore road signs. Excessive consumption of alcohol has also lead to family breakdowns hence contributing to the high rate of divorce, separation and single-parent families. Moreover, excessive consumption of alcohol is associated with killer diseases such as liver cirrhosis and cancer of the stomach. Even though brewing industries do warn consumers of these deadly behaviors many people do not heed the warnings.
Brewing industries normally make huge profits from the sale of beers and wines in large quantities. The third illegal leisure activity is the smoking of cigarettes and engaging in drug abuse. Many countries have ban smoking in the following areas: unrestricted and confidential workplaces, government structure and administrative centers, unrestricted structures, health hubs and enterprises, schools and training centers, interior sports instruction centers, interior public leisure areas, shopping centers, as well as communal amenities. Harris (2005) stated that smoking is associated with a number of bad elements such as tooth decay or discoloration, cancer, addiction and offenders are liable to imprisonment and yet cigarette manufacture accrues a lot of money from their manufacturing activities.
Inhalation or injection of illegal drug substances may create many disorders in our society. For instance, some drug addicts get hallucinations and become hostile to other people. Some engage in fraudulent deals or criminal activities and drug traffickers may be charged and forced to languish in prisons for many years. Drug trafficking is associated with good returns and drug peddlers will do whatever it takes to smuggle these illicit drugs in any particular country. This high return in drug trafficking has propelled these illegal leisure activities for a long time.
Conclusion
Legal free time activities have dropped significantly during the last few decades. The leisure institution has been attributed to a considerable input in employment and the financial system. However, illegal leisure activities have continued to tear apart the national fabric through many undesirable results. It is very vital for any country or state to put in place punitive measures that will help in curbing illegal leisure activities so that we may have a closely-knit society that has good morals and principles.
References
Bull, C. Hoose, J. & Weed, M., 2003. An Introduction to Leisure Studies. London: Prentice Hall.
Harris, D., 2005. Key Concepts in Leisure Studies. London: Sage.
Stebbbins, R., 2007. Serious leisure: a perspective of our time. New Brunswick: Trans. Publishers.