Definition of leisure:

1) Time when you are not working;

2) Time when you can do whatever you want to do.
—Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary1

Free time - time available for hobbies and other activities

that you enjoy

What is the difference between spare time and leisure time

and free time?

They're all correct. "Spare time" and "free time" are the
most common, but "leisure time" is more specific -- it means
that you're not working. Free time and spare time usually is
taken to mean "time that I'm not on-duty for my regular job,"
or "time when I'm not at school" for a youngster. So it would
be normal to say "I need to use some of my free time to cut
the grass," but usually when someone refers to "leisure
time" they're doing something they enjoy during that time,
not chores.

Over the early 1900s, Americans would

enjoy more and more leisure activities
 Amusement parks
 Bicycling and tennis
 Spectator sports
 Baseball
AMUSEMENT PARKS
 PARKS WERE BUILT THAT HAD PICNIC AREAS
AND RIDES TO GO ON
 CONEY ISLAND IN NEW YORK OPENED IN 1884
 FIRST FERRIS WHEEL OPENED IN CHICAGO IN
1893
 PREVIOUSLY MALE-ONLY –
TIRES WERE ALL RUBBER,
KIND OF DANGEROUS
 AFTER INVENTION OF SAFER
BICYCLES, WOMEN BEGIN TO
CYCLE – MEANT FREEDOM
FOR MANY OF THEM
 TENNIS – NOT AS BIG NOW,
BUT PEOPLE THEN ENJOYED IT

BICYCLING
AND
TENNIS

SNACKS
 COCA-COLA – ORIGINATES IN 1886, HITTING
MAINSTREAM BY 1900S
 HERSHEY’S CHOCOLATE BARS
 BOXING AND BASEBALL BECAME POPULAR AS
SPECTATOR SPORTS – HAD JUST BEEN FOR FUN
BEFORE
 BASEBALL – APPEARED IN THE US IN 1845, AND
BECAME POPULAR DURING THE CIVIL WAR
 BY 1900S, GAME HAD BEEN STANDARDIZED, AND
CLUBS WERE APPEARING EVERYWHERE IN THE
COUNTRY
 SPECTATOR
SPORTS
AND
BASEBALL

MASS CULTURE
 NEWSPAPERS – WORKED HARDER TO GRAB
READERS’ ATTENTION WITH INTERESTING
STORIES – “SIN, SEX, AND SCANDAL.”
 FINE ARTS – ART GALLERIES APPEAR IN CITIES,
MANY FREE AND PUBLIC LIBRARIES
 POPULAR FICTION – MORE BOOK WRITERS
START WRITING LIGHT FICTION, AS OPPOSED TO
HEAVY LITERATURE

 FIRST SHOPPING CENTER APPEARS IN 1890 –

PEOPLE COULD COME, STROLL AROUND, AND
VIEW WINDOW DISPLAYS
 DEPARTMENT STORES – ACTUALLY BEGIN AS
EARLY AS 1865
 CHAIN STORES – STORES THAT OFFERED THE
SAME PRODUCTS AT MANY LOCATIONS SAVED
MONEY BY BUYING IN LARGE QUANTITIES

SHOPPING
 Advertising
 Money spent on advertising went from $10 million in
1865 to $95 million by 1900
 Advertisers used innovative methods – put
advertisements on buildings, rocks, etc.
 Catalogs introduced – people could look through the
catalog and order through a form, then have it
delivered to their house

The majority of Americans tend to enjoy more passive

leisure activities, such as watching television or going to the
movies, as opposed to vigorous activities like aerobics,
jogging and weight training.