“Passive Leisure” is another uplift imposter. Surfing the internet, checking social media, and watching TV seem like energy restorers but often leave us feeling even more drained. Low-effort activities that ask so little and require minimal physical, intellectual, or social involvement do not build the same lasting positive resources as more engaged activities. They appeal to our instinct for idleness but do not sustainably revitalize us. Everyday Vitality- Turning Stress into Strength Samantha Boardman, MD

Passive leisure. I had never heard that term before, but it is a term that will give strength to my arguments that social media and internet surfing are not particularly healthy long term strategies for our mental, physical and emotional health.

I don’t think we, as a society, know the difference between what is healthy social media consumption and what isn’t. I think if people were to do a time audit, they would be shocked at how much time they spend on their phone and on social media.

The real question is: does social media consumption make you feel better or worse?

For me, social media consumption does not make me feel better. My first thought is “OMG how much time did I waste on this”. My second thought is anger that I could have been doing something much more fun or productive. Keep in mind, I don’t do TIk Tok or youtube or twitter or snapchat or bereal, and I barely have a presence on Facebook or Instagram- so my internet footprint is relatively small, and even with a small presence I still don’t feel great about it. But ask me how I feel after reading a book, or going to the Met or the gardens, or the gym, or walking the dog, or going to the theater to see a movie, concert or show, or cooking something…and my answer is wildly different.

For your homework, I want you to audit how much time you spend on social media for a day. Jot down what you did, how much time you spent and how you felt. Then do the same things for what i will call Active Leisure (reading counts as active leisure if it is a book or article) Active leisure also includes face to face time with actual people.

See how you felt after doing passive vs active leisure…

Then figure our how you want to continue spending your time.

55 thoughts on “Passive Leisure”

  1. Great thoughts, LA! I’ve been off social media for 8 or 9 years and, once I got through the first few weeks of withdraws 😅, I haven’t missed it a bit. I do spent a bit of time on WordPress, but I think this counts as Active Leisure–reading, comments rather than likes, and connecting. I get far more pleasure from face-to-face interactions, walks in nature, and reading than I ever got from social media scrolling.

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  3. I’m with Erin on labeling WP as a more active form of leisure, especially when reading and commenting. The writing part moves more into work 😉

    I totally agree with you though, but have no intent of embracing the social media abyss. There’s nothing I need there.

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    1. I love your thought about a ‘social media abyss’ Deb. Yep…it’s slippery. And LA – the whole notion of passive leisure and the quote you included? I like Dr. Boardman’s thoughts. I need to be engaged, not just absorbing. xo! 😘

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  4. Great post here. How many times can we say, “There’s some time I’ll never get back.” Social media is supposed just that, social. A way to visit digitally with friends. Not a way to make a living or to spend a day. With a real friend, the 3 dimensional type, you may go to lunch or meet for a drink. When that time is up, you leave. That is face to face, the way life should be. Not bot to bot. Seems like real life is being replaced.

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  5. I’m actively passive on what you’re calling Social Media. As however defined, if you think most Social Media as calorie free factor giving “AI” free range! This Brave New World is but in infancy.

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  6. I got rid of Facebook a number of years ago and discovered so much more time. Now I find I am slowly getting pulled into YouTube more and more. It may start with a political video that I feel is important to watch to be informed. Before I know it, I have clicked on something about the Royal Family–a group I really don’t care about. Your post is good encouragement to really examine whom I have subscribed to and get rid of those that are just time wasters. Can you imagine your blog if all you did was “passive leisure?” What would you have to write about except your brain cells dying off?

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      2. That’s a very valid use for YouTube. I turn to it frequently when I need to fix something. The step by step tutorials (plumbing, etc.) can be really helpful.

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  7. I totally agree with you. I used to be on social media a lot more than I am now. “Passive leisure” is a term I’ve never heard about before. Today my post is all about active leisure — I dusted off my flute and began practicing. Add walks, swimming, reading, bird watching and ping pong — they all make me feel much better than social media.

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  8. Great post, LA! Part of my passive leisure includes reading fellow bloggers material such as this. I do find my time perusing wordpress authors uplifting! Other social media platforms I definitely need to reduce time on! I like the challenge of this exercise and will definitely try it!

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    1. Well, reading is active…so if you’re reading with intent to learn or find something new, and you’re responding to the post,you are actively engaged. It’s more the people who scroll reader and like things but jump from one thing to the next and spend hours.

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  9. This morning I did my PT exercise, virtual yoga with VA, moved a heavy box of dirt and planted three flowers which sounds easy but it was not. I also get on social media for information regarding gardening in Florida and a local site about teachers in my area talking it out. Both are very informative, so I think it is really good. I will for entertainment read the phone version app of The NY Post. If it is too negative or just really out there, my entertainment is finished. I follow a few bloggers including you.

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  10. I’ve greatly decreased my time on social media. And I can honestly say it’s positively impacted my mood. Once in a while I still find myself mindlessly scrolling. But when I finally recognize the trap I’ve caught myself in, then I move onto something more productive. I do have a friend though, that makes judgments and assumptions based on whether people like her posts. It drives me crazy. And it boggles my mind how she even takes time to read comments not on her own posts, but others. So much wasted time and energy.

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    1. Yeah…I want people to talk about what 8 write, but basically because that’s the fun part of blogging for me…the interaction

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  11. I will gladly interact face to face with someone ,read a book, hike a trail and enjoy it more than what you call “passive leisure” Scrolling does not make me feel good, unless i am scrolling to find quotes for my Tuesday’s posts. 🙂 I agree with what some of the others said about WP being active leisure, for I am interacting by commenting and reading, and the WP is my favorite social media.

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  13. I pulled the plug on FB a couple of months ago now. Had some withdrawal to be perfectly honest, but now that I’m on the other side. and I don’t feel the pull, I do not plan to return. Maybe in the fall, I will fire up our FB business page attached to our orchard again, but that’s it. I also do miss Marketplace, but not enough to go back. Does playing in the garden count as active leisure? It leaves me tired and happy.

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  14. Such an important self-survey LA. I find I spend too much time browsing for pimple cream on Amazon, or a new pair of black flats, lip balm, garden signs. I come out of my stupor and 20 minutes have passed, my cart is full, and I’ve accomplished nothing. Scrolling social media does not interest me as much as reading posts and engaging (which takes a lot of time), writing post, and coming up with marketing strategies to promote my book, posts, etc. Basically, I wish I didn’t sit on my ass as much as I do. There’s lots of room for improvement. Hugs, C

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  15. You’re so right! When I spend too much time on Facebook, I just get depressed and sorry that I didn’t use that time for something more productive. But when I spend a couple of hours relaxing with a good book, I feel great! There’s a huge difference in how we “waste” our time.

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  16. I’ve not heard of the term passive leisure, but I understand it intuitively. Either you’re creating content and making meaningful connections in social media which is how I envision blogging; or you’re just mindlessly consuming something like Twitter or FB or TikTok that, for me at least, numbs me. I prefer to feel alive.

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  17. Very true. I can wake up feeling full of energy and ready to write, but if I decide to check my mail/facebook/news first than an hour later I’m totally deflated.

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  18. I agree. I hate watching TV. I use social media for an average of 4 hours a week, according to my phone, which keeps track of such things. Anything over, I know that was a week I was bored. Anything under, I know that was a week I was busy.

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  19. One feature I started using across my Apple devices is Screen Time. While Screen Time can be used to track or limit various types of content for kids, it can also give you a really good, sometimes scary report of just how much time you yourself spend using specific apps, or apps within various broader categories, or in general just how much time you use your phone. When I first started using Screen Time, I was absolutely shocked at how much time I was spending on Twitter over the course of a week. Hours and hours and yet I could not recall a single tweet which captured my attention long enough for me to actively engage. I was also surprised at just how many times per hour I pick up my phone and that got me to wondering whether I really really do need to be notified about every thing that every app thinks might be important? For me, the answer was a definite no and I eventually wound up turning off most of my notifications.

    Super thought-provoking post as usual. I know the Screen Time report definitely helped put things in perspective for me, maybe it will help others.

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    1. I get it for my iPad. I’m more of an iPad abuser than phone…and you’re right. I want to see decent numbers for reading on my nook device, or docs (where I keep my writing and I edit) but that’s about it

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