The rich were meant to have the most leisure time. The working poor were meant to have the least. The opposite is happening. Why?
So, what are are these young, non-working men doing with their time? Three quarters of their additional leisure time is spent with video games, Hurst’s research has shown. And these young men are happy—or, at least, they self-report higher satisfaction than this age group used to, even when its employment rate was 10 percentage points higher.
1. The availability of attractive work for poor men (especially black men) is falling, as the availability of cheap entertainment is rising.
2. Social forces cultivate a conspicuous industriousness (even workaholism) among affluent college graduates.
3. Leisure is getting “leaky.”