Leisure Engagement and Disengagement in Contemporary Finland

What does cultural disengagement – the non-consumption of cultural activities – mean in an egalitarian Nordic country such as Finland? How is the leisure time of allegedly passive Finns constructed, and how do they motivate their choices? While the benefits of culturally active life are well known, little is done to understand better the reasons behind cultural disengagement. Research on leisure has recently highlighted the rise of different cultural consumption patterns that challenge the classic theories on class-based hierarchies on taste. However, most of the attention has been focused on active rather than passive cultural consumers. This paper aims to fill that void and explore the reasons behind cultural disengagement and low cultural participation in contemporary Finland. Furthermore, it asks how cultural policy could function better and more equally. Existing research proves that culturally disengaged groups are difficult to reach through quantitative methods. Therefore, this project will draw on rich qualitative data: 20 focus groups interviews will be collected among groups and individuals already recognized as culturally disengaged by previous research. The interviews will focus on leisure in general and then more specifically on cultural domains (e.g. music, literature and sports) – both from the perspectives of traditional spectatorship and home-based participation. It might be expected that cultural disengagement is linked to lack of time or economical resources, or suitable possibilities of cultural participation close to home. On a deeper level, cultural disengagement could be a symbolic struggle against established lifestyles. In this way, this project will problematize the concept of “cultural participation” altogether. This investigation will provide empirical data and a deeper understanding of the leisure time of the culturally disengaged, offering key information for policy-makers and cultural institutions to deploy new strategies and actions in a context of economic crisis and cuts in several fields of public services.