In his writing Theodor Adorno discusses the concept of “free time” in which he claims that “in reality, neither in their work nor in their consciousness are people unfreely in charge of themselves.” Thinking about Adorno’s argument that what people may consider being free time is really a social constructed concept, I came to examine my own life and my perception of free time.
While in my professional life I am extremely occupied with work during the day, I am continuously thinking about work when I arrive home at the end of the day. Thoughts of what I need to get done that I have not finished or what I will have to do the next day take up the time where I should be in leisure. Still, when I take time to relax by having something to eat, arrange my home, and do chores, I find my self organizing and preparing myself for the next work day. As Adorno states, “unfreedom is expanding within free time, and most of the unfree people are as unconscious of the process as they are of their own freedom.”
In a social aspect when I take time for leisure to spend time with friends, work is one of the initial topics of conversation. When you meet new people one of the first questions that rise is what your occupation is. Therefore even in my free time I feel myself trapped in my work life.
The perception of what one does as an occupation and how much money they generate dictates how much time one can take for leisure. While in the work place I find myself getting distracted with thoughts of having free time to travel. However, even when considering taking a trip I must take into consideration being available in case I need to work while I am away. This completely defeats the idea of freedom because I am still trapped in work. Also the time I am able to be away is limited and controlled by my employer. Financially in order for me to be able to afford to take a vacation and have free time I need to make money so that I am comfortable and able to take a vacation. Those thoughts of having “free time” are complete function of an industry of profit.
The realization is that even my hobby and my idea of “leisure” is profit driven and a restricting institutionalized industry. I consider dancing salsa my hobby, I find that it relieves my stress, clears my mind and provides me with much enjoyment. However, when examining the process I must go through to enjoy my free time I see that my freedom is constrained. To take dance lessons I have to be at a certain place at a specific time. I have to pay a fee to participate in a class, a class that is framed as a work place. In a dance class structure you need to show up at a certain time, follow the instructions of an instructor that may be seen as an authority figure, a boss. The “boss” provides you with guidance and teaches you a set of dance steps. One needs to learn, memorize, practice and perform in a uniform way an exact task that is given, in order for the end result to be successful. My hobby resembles my work settings more than an activity that is supposed to be liberating.
As a result instead of leisure one finds themselves being confined to the class formation. This becomes what Adorno describes as a “pseudo-activity”. The fact that I have to plan out my day around being on time to take a dance class for my enjoyment eliminates the idea of freedom. “The pseudo-activities are fictions and parodies of the productivity society, on the one hand incessantly demands and on the other hand confines and in fact does not really desire in individuals at all”.
The notion of “free time” is a complete contradiction in our society because of the fact that even when we have free time we conform into some kind of a framed institution, must pay for our enjoyment or be under a time constraint.
While in my professional life I am extremely occupied with work during the day, I am continuously thinking about work when I arrive home at the end of the day. Thoughts of what I need to get done that I have not finished or what I will have to do the next day take up the time where I should be in leisure. Still, when I take time to relax by having something to eat, arrange my home, and do chores, I find my self organizing and preparing myself for the next work day. As Adorno states, “unfreedom is expanding within free time, and most of the unfree people are as unconscious of the process as they are of their own freedom.”
In a social aspect when I take time for leisure to spend time with friends, work is one of the initial topics of conversation. When you meet new people one of the first questions that rise is what your occupation is. Therefore even in my free time I feel myself trapped in my work life.
The perception of what one does as an occupation and how much money they generate dictates how much time one can take for leisure. While in the work place I find myself getting distracted with thoughts of having free time to travel. However, even when considering taking a trip I must take into consideration being available in case I need to work while I am away. This completely defeats the idea of freedom because I am still trapped in work. Also the time I am able to be away is limited and controlled by my employer. Financially in order for me to be able to afford to take a vacation and have free time I need to make money so that I am comfortable and able to take a vacation. Those thoughts of having “free time” are complete function of an industry of profit.
The realization is that even my hobby and my idea of “leisure” is profit driven and a restricting institutionalized industry. I consider dancing salsa my hobby, I find that it relieves my stress, clears my mind and provides me with much enjoyment. However, when examining the process I must go through to enjoy my free time I see that my freedom is constrained. To take dance lessons I have to be at a certain place at a specific time. I have to pay a fee to participate in a class, a class that is framed as a work place. In a dance class structure you need to show up at a certain time, follow the instructions of an instructor that may be seen as an authority figure, a boss. The “boss” provides you with guidance and teaches you a set of dance steps. One needs to learn, memorize, practice and perform in a uniform way an exact task that is given, in order for the end result to be successful. My hobby resembles my work settings more than an activity that is supposed to be liberating.
As a result instead of leisure one finds themselves being confined to the class formation. This becomes what Adorno describes as a “pseudo-activity”. The fact that I have to plan out my day around being on time to take a dance class for my enjoyment eliminates the idea of freedom. “The pseudo-activities are fictions and parodies of the productivity society, on the one hand incessantly demands and on the other hand confines and in fact does not really desire in individuals at all”.
The notion of “free time” is a complete contradiction in our society because of the fact that even when we have free time we conform into some kind of a framed institution, must pay for our enjoyment or be under a time constraint.
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