• What are recreational activities?
• Characteristics of recreational activities
• Examples of recreational activities

We explain what recreational activities are, why they are important, their characteristics and various examples.

Some recreational activities can be done in a group and outdoors.

What are recreational activities?

The activities recreational are those that allow us to distract ourselves and relieve ourselves of the responsibilities and of worked. Therefore, these are tasks carried out voluntarily and enthusiastically that bring a different degree of relaxation, fun and socialization, without obligation involved.

Recreational activities have a central importance in the life of the human being, not only as relief from day-to-day tensions and productive activity, but also as physical and dynamic exercise of learning. So a life devoid of recreation will generally be a life of suffering, disease, and premature aging.

For their part, these activities can be of a very different nature. Some, like the sports and the games, can be done outdoors and with the participation of other people, while others, such as the reading and modeling, require isolation and introspection, so they are usually held behind closed doors.

Similarly, it is possible to distinguish recreational activities of a competitive type, such as certain sports and games in which one individual faces another or others, from activities of a collaborative type, in which many individuals coordinate to achieve a common goal.

Characteristics of recreational activities

Broadly speaking, recreational activities are characterized by the following:

• They are made by the mere pleasure of themselves, that is, without any type of obligation or mandate.
• They always occur during leisure, either within the time administered by an institution (such as school recess) or during the time remaining after the end of the productive day. Therefore, they are not utilitarian activities, that is, they do not provide any material reward.
• They can be individual or group, and the latter can be competitive or collaborative. They can also be spontaneous or organized.
• They are essential activities for a healthy life, since they allow the reduction of stress and the enjoyment of life, so they are part of the fundamental human rights.

They are classified as follows:

• Sports-recreational activities, which consist of the non-professional practice of a sport, that is, of practicing a sport for the pleasure of the sport itself.
• Recreational activities, which consist of some type of board game, parlor game, video game, etc., in which time is invested in exchange for distraction and fun.
• Outdoor activities, which are carried out in outdoor environments, such as walks in the park, trekking, swimming in the sea, etc.
• Activities of artistic and manual creation, in which the individual explores his creative, artistic or literary skills without pretense of professionalization, that is, for the pure enjoyment of the creativity.
• Cultural consumption activities, which consist of attending as a public an event or show of cultural, social or spiritual value, such as concerts, theater, religious masses or even read a book.
• Socio-family activities, which consist of the promotion of social ties and dialogue among friends and family, for the sheer pleasure of seeing each other and sharing.
• Relaxation activities, which are intended to promote a more friendly existence through specific techniques such as meditation, massage, etc.
• Hobbies or pastimes, which consist of non-productive activities but with a lot of focus and attention, which are carried out for pure enjoyment, such as model building or philately.

Examples of recreational activities

Sports practices allow socializing and enjoying physical activity.

The following is a list of examples of recreational activities:

• recreational travel and sightseeing, in which other geographies of the world are explored in search of experiences and pleasant or interesting anecdotes. This includes everything from a spectacular trip to India to a trip to the beach.
• Amateur sports practices, such as getting together with friends every week to play soccer, baseball, golf or ping-pong, to name a few examples.
• Daily exercise, that is, more or less solitary physical practices such as jogging, jogging around the city or jumping rope in the square, which are done for pleasure and with the purpose of being healthy.
• Philately and collecting, activities that consist of collecting objects of a specific type and that have a certain monetary, cultural or personal value, without this constituting our regular economic activity. For example, collecting stamps, coins from other countries, decorations of a certain type, filling albums with cards, etc.
• Playing video games, whether on consoles, the cell phone or on the computer, these are pieces of software intended for entertainment and to let the time pass, although many of them offer the user experiences that are very close to the artistic.
• Go to shows, alone or accompanied, such as theater performances, film screenings, musical concerts, folk dances, gastronomic fairs, etc.
• Reading, when it is not done for the specific purpose of studying or improving productive activities, but for the enjoyment of a novel or a collection of poems, or for cultivating the knowledge on a subject we are fond of.
• Going out to eat, generally in the company of our friends or our partner, not for the simple fact of satisfying hunger, but to try exotic restaurants, eat a specific dish or eat in a very nice place.
• Children's games, almost always practiced outdoors and in groups, do not usually require much more than the enthusiasm to play and a set of agreed rules. Examples of these games are: blind man's hen, hide and seek, or “cops and robbers”.
• Family gatherings, whether to celebrate a specific day (such as a birthday, or the Christmas) or for the mere pleasure of spending time, chatting and catching up with loved ones.
• Practice shooting, with sports weapons such as bows and arrows or compressed air rifles, for the sheer enjoyment of exercising aim against non-living targets and in safe conditions.
• Going out dancing, whether in clubs and among strangers, or with groups of friends and at parties, dancing is both a physical, social and recreational activity.
• Riding a bicycle, especially in cities with cycle paths, but sometimes even in rural areas or on non-professional sports circuits.
• Do extreme sports, whose dynamics of risk encourage adrenaline, such as paragliding, bungee jumping, kayaking, etc.
• Acquire new talents, such as sculpture, languages ​​or painting, when they are not intended for professional improvement but for the enjoyment of creativity and learning.