General Changes Of Social Values And Their Impact On Leisure Time, Health And Personalization

The general change of social values is mainly attributed to changes in value structures at work. The Protestant work ethic, which places the meaning of life at work, sees moral value as an end in itself, and puts the fulfillment of duty above the enjoyment of existence, gradually loses its relevance.  Work becomes more and more a mean to an end; it is less and less an end in itself. To the same extent that work loses its function and value, free time experiences a fundamental revaluation.  The ultimate goal of this research is to examine the causes of general changes of values in the society and the effects on Leisure Time, Health and Personalization. The method adopted for the study was a review of the relevant literature. In the light of the present study, the polarity of the materialistic values’ preservation is evident as well as the preservation of post-materialistic values. The conservation of material values is associated with characteristics such as adaptability, performance, power, etc. On the other hand, the preservation of postmaterialist goods is evidence of a reduced willingness to define roles, self-development, quality of life, etc. Leisure time does not evolve independently of other social sectors and therefore cannot be understood without taking into account overriding social processes. So, there is an instant understanding of leisure, which along with the overriding processes of changing values abolishes traditional and standardized attitudes towards values in favor of new individualistic-hedonistic elements.  Therefore ’leisure time’ can be seen as a central factor in the general change of social values.  The demands of life in modern industrial societies and their impact on health are the reason that more and more people are looking after their physical well-being and seeking out offers that aim at better health. Health itself is often presented to society as a threatened and difficult to achieve commodity.  As a result, people try to influence their living factors so as to reduce the risk factors responsible for illnesses or to minimize them by taking appropriate measures.  Awareness of the existence of risk factors that undermine health has aroused interest in the body itself. In our performance demanding society, body is increasingly given more importance.  If the body does not function properly, social prestige is lost, which is largely determined by the body itself. A fit and healthy body acts as a means of projection and serves as a defense mechanism that enables man to cope with the problems of modern society.