Jyväskylä is currently studying the use of cultural services and their impact on people’s well-being. Initial results show that young people are engaged in a wide range of activities and that online activities take up very little of their time.
The use of social media is less of a constraint on young people’s leisure activities than previously thought. This is the result of an interview study on cultural policy at the University of Jyväskylä, which investigated the leisure activities of young people in Jyväskylä.
The cultural policy researchers interviewed young people aged 15-20 from different socio-economic backgrounds and educational levels. In total, 26 young people from different parts of Jyväskylä participated in the interview.
According to the results, young people in Jyväskylä are very active in a wide range of activities. Sport is the most popular, but young people are also interested in culture.
Rethinking adult prejudices
In the research material, the experts were surprised that the use of social media took up only a small part of young people’s free time.
According to the professor, in the qualitative survey, other issues were emphasized instead of screen time.
– Rather, the research material showed social activities and the social reasons for hobbies and the fact that young people want to be a little like \”hands in clay\” in their free time and really do other things in their free time than just being in front of the screen, Pyykkönen says.
Exercise and sports hobbies vary from jogging and hiking to skiing and water polo.
Independently, young people enjoy, for example, music, reading, visual arts and handicrafts. Some make podcasts, for example. Dance and theater were highlighted in the guided cultural and art activities.
Impact of cultural services under study
The city of Jyväskylä is currently investigating the use of cultural services by city residents and their impact on people’s well-being. The research that investigated young people’s hobbies was carried out as part of a longer-term investigation.
The research project, which started in the autumn of last year, will last five years. During it, both interview surveys and statistical data on the use of cultural services by different population groups will be collected.
The research being carried out in Jyväskylä is based on a national goal to find out about the effects of the use of cultural services on, for example, the well-being of children and young people.