Discussion Questions – Leisure
- Cultures define their reason for existence in different ways. Some people influenced by religion see life on earth as only worthwhile insomuch as people are working in order to have a better life in heaven one day. Some more secular cultures, and people with those cultural values see this life as the only one that people were ever have. I think this cultural value influence people’s values towards work. People should ask themselves the question that it is that they are working for. Obviously, people need a place to sleep and something to eat to get by, but that is an animalistic existence. Animals spend every day just getting by, procuring something to eat and drink and finding a safe place to sleep. Humanity has a species has a much more nuanced life. We have art, and literature and music and we play games and sports and things of this nature. Cultures that put more value in these personal pursuits will be more likely to lead lives in which time is set aside to have for this rather than just continuing to work more and more.
2. In order to be successful at marketing, you have to market to a particular culture and have a product speak to the values of that culture. For cultures that value leisure, products that are fun have a better chance at selling if they are marketed simple for their entertainment value. Some cultures, like Asian cultures that value work and sometimes do not even know how to spend their free time since they work so much, might be more likely to buy a product if it is viewed as having some added benefit rather than just being a fun or entertaining product.
