Connections between media technology and leisure: insights from Aristotle and Heidegger

Philosophical inquiry that delves into the intriguing connections between media technology and leisure may assist us in understanding how we might consider the goodness (leading to happiness) of using media technology for leisure. Specifically, philosophical discourses of Aristotle and Heidegger can be used to help identify and clarify the roles of media technology and leisure. Therefore, in this paper, we provide a philosophical examination of connections between media technology and leisure by exploring perspectives and linkages of writings by Aristotle [2004. The Nicomachean ethics. Translated and edited by J. A. K. Thompson. New York: Penguin Group] and Heidegger [1977. The Question Concerning Technology. Translated and edited by W. Lovitt. New York: Harper & Row]. We use the writings of these philosophers to organize and describe recent research focusing on media technology and leisure experiences. The relationship between media technology and leisure is complex and multifaceted and it seems that this relationship is reciprocal, in that media technology influences leisure expression and, simultaneously, leisure experiences shape the use of media technology.