Social Inequality in Leisure Time

The leisure time is appeared to be new social area which have been conceptualized and defined as product of modernity within the context of social and cultural changes and increasing consumption culture. The study of leisure time as a socio-cultural process and investigating its distinctions in terms of various patterns of social inequality is a novel interest in the sociology of leisure time. Therefore, regarding the young structure of Iranian population and the importance of inquiring social characteristics of leisure patterns, this paper concerns to study the patterns of management of leisure time and different forms of social inequality affecting it among Iranian young people (15-29 years old). This study is based on secondary analysis of data extracted from the national survey of socio-economic characteristics of Iranian households in 2001 Statistics Center of Iran. Findings and The results emphasize on symbolic importance of leisure in youth lives and its significant relationship with the different forms of social inequality in society studied, that is, the context in which the youth have different access to leisure opportunities and chances, and the different styles of leisure are experiences in terms of the forms of social inequality such as spatial, gender, ethnic, and class inequalities.