Interests and leisure

With the gradual decrease in the number of working hours and longer holidays than in the past, many people have quite a lot of leisure time, and a wide variety of ways to spend it.

Some people use their free time to relax, either actively or passively, but more people are doing volunteer work, especially for charities, or political parties. A lot of free time is spent sitting passively at home where most popular leisure activities are watching TV, reading the newspaper or a magazine, playing computer games, surfing the Net..Our consumer way of life has even changed the way we spend our free time: many adults now spend their Saturdays or Sundays shopping at the nearest supermarket while many city young people meet friends at large shopping centres.

Free-time activities vary from season to season. In summer, gardening is popular among middle-aged and elderly people. In winter, many men often work on „do-it-yourself“ projects around the house. Many women still enjoy knitting and sewing on cold winter evenings. Many young men and boys enjoy going to the local rink or pond to play some hockey and no child would miss sledding after a fresh snow. One more way some people spend their leisure time during the long winter is by attending the theatre, concerts, art exhibitions and the cinema. The warm weather also brings out children of all ages on skateboards, rollerblades and bikes. Hiking, rock climbing and long walks in the woods looking for mushrooms are also favourite pastimes is good weather. Many people also use both spring and autumn to repair, paint, redecorate, and remodel their out´at the weekend. There are many local festivals and fairs or amusement parks and zoos to go to. Many use their free weekends to go to their cabins, cottages or country-houses no matter what season it is.

Psychological dramas are often too mentally and emotionally demanding so quiz shows, variety shows and reality programmes are becoming more popular. Living separately can have a negative effect on family relationships since family members spend less time/talking to each other. Another leisure time activity is reading. Many people go to the library our city and town libraries do not have the money to update their collections so when people do not find what they are looking for they end up buying it in a bookshop. Lots of people spend hours reading their horoscope doing crossword puzzles. Some free-time activities involve animals. The most popular must be having a dog or a cat. For people who live in a flat in a housing estate having a dog can take up a lot of their free time. They enjoy being able to get out several times a day to take their four-leged friend on his daily walks. Most people like socializing. They enjoy going out with friends for dinner or a dring after a hard day at work. Sometimes they invite friends over to their place for a fun time of relaxation. Fitness classes can also be a good way to spend your free time. While in Britain a visit to pub often includes playing a game of darts or pool, in Slovakia, most pubs do not even have games available. There is one more possibility: education. People who live and work in the early 21 st. century need to have a many employees, of all ages, spend their free time studying part.time at different universities. In many European countries, people extend their education by attending evening classes or working towards a degree at the Open University.