Edgework can be termed as anarchic human experiences that often involve voluntary activities that individuals take part in for the purpose of acquiring a sense of self-determination as well as control thus, through an “adrenaline rush”. Further, edgework can also be defined as the negotiation of two extremes as well as opposing sides these are such as life and death (Lumtpon 2012). When individuals take part in edgework activities which are acts that involve extreme risk- taking, they tend to push themselves thus, to the edge of danger for the purpose of gaining excitement as well as certainty (Lyng 2005, p.3). Edgework activities are such as water kayaking, sky diving, street racing, bungee jumping, substance abuse, hiking, poaching, shooting sprees, camping, vandalism, snowmobiling, skiing, as well as gang fighting.
Illegal edgework involve activities that are generally prohibited by law. An example of illegal edgework is substance abuse such as use of drugs or activities such as binge drinking while legal edgework involve activities that are in accordance to state laws, hence, do not violate any law such as skydiving (Lyng 2005, p.227). One of the major difference thus, between illegal and legal edgework is the fact that illegal edgework comprises of extremely high risk activities that at most times result to loss of life. An example is substance abuse which tends to blur the boundaries that exists between consciousness and unconsciousness. Drug and alcohol abuse as edgework activities lead to increase in motor accidents, delinquent as well as violent criminal acts such as assault which may lead to loss of life (Lyng 2005, p.227). Unlike legal edgework activities such as skydiving which are conducted openly, illegal edgework activities such as substance abuse of drugs such as cocaine are often conducted in secrecy. Unlike skydiving, substance abuse as a form of edgework activity may lead to health complications. Further, another difference is the fact that illegal edgework often results in destruction of property such as in the event of substance abuse such as binge drinking which may cause outbreaks of fights leading to property destruction.
There are several kinds of risks done by people such as sky diving. Sky diving involves an individual jumping out of a moving plane in the free fall mode then deploying the parachute after a period of time acting as the landing gear. Failure to land properly or deployment of the parachute may lead to risk of injury or loss of life (Brymer 2010, p.221). The human body is not designed to fly like the birds and it is for this reason the excitement is triggered as the person sky diving gets to feel as if he is flying.
Another risk undertaken by some people is street car racing. The race entails the driver fitting their car with accessories to boost speed. The thrill and excitement is felt because the fitting of accessories to boost speed is illegal, the race itself is illegal and some people are rebellious and find going against the law exciting (Brymer 2010, p.225). In addition, normal people may not reach a certain level of speed on their own and when they experience the high speed in cars they get excited. In case of any mechanical problems or errors by the driver, the car may crash at high speed killing its occupants.
Different attributes like demographic characteristics and life circumstances affect the groups of people who engage in edgework practices. In terms of demographic characteristics we find that the teens and adolescents experience boredom greatly since they have time but are denied many activities leading them to take part some illegal edgework activities like binge drinking (Lyng 2005, p.116). The teens may also indulge in edgework practices because of rebellion against rules or policies. In terms of life circumstances, we find the people who are stressed or depressed especially the ones experiencing mid life crisis engage in edgework practices to get the thrill or rejuvenate their excitement (Lyng 2005, p.116).
References
Brymer, E., 2010. Risk taking in extreme sports: A phenomenological perspective. Annals of Leisure Research, 13(1-2), pp.218-238.
Lupton, D. (2012). Edgework: Taking risks for the fun of it. This Sociological Life. [Online]. Available at: https://simplysociology.wordpress.com/2012/05/30/edgework-taking-risks-for-the-fun-of-it/ [Accessed January 23rd, 2015)
Lyng, S. (2005). Edgework: The Sociology of Risk-taking. Psychology Press, pp. 297.
