We explain what entertainment is, what types exist and what its benefits are. Also, why it is important for human beings.
What is entertainment?
Entertainment or entertainment is the action of entertaining oneself and the very thing with which one entertains oneself, that is, what one dedicates one's free time to in order to have fun and combat boredom. Entertainment allows the individual to momentarily evade responsibilities and worries, and dedicate their attention to activities that give them pleasure or peace.
The word “entertainment” derives from the verb entertainoriginally made up of Latin voices inter (“between”) and I will have (“have”), that is, “have between”, since what one entertains oneself with is what has between two moments of work, for example. Hence we use the verb “entertain” when we talk about occupying or distracting someone: “entertain the visitor for a moment while I finish preparing the sandwiches.” The word “entertainment”, therefore, is synonymous with distraction, fun, entertainment, recreation, among others.
Human beings and many animals have a fundamental need for entertainment. That is, it is not enough for them to carry out the fundamental life-sustaining tasks, such as eating, sleeping or feeding themselves, but they occasionally engage in play, contemplation and other activities whose ultimate goal is not necessarily practical or useful. but pleasant or distracting.
In the case of human beings, this need for fun has allowed the construction of an entertainment industry, which is dedicated to offering services of this nature to its audience.
See also: Recreational activities
Types of entertainment
There are many and very different forms of entertainment, which we can classify according to the nature of the activities they propose, as follows:
- Athletic or sports entertainment. It covers different competitive activities, generally of a physical nature, that can be done individually or in groups, such as playing a game of soccer, attending yoga classes, going for a jog or playing golf on the weekends.
- Social entertainment. It includes social gathering activities and events that you can attend to simply enjoy the company of others, such as going to a bar or a nightclub to meet people, visiting friends at home or frequenting a social club to meet up. with old acquaintances.
- Playful entertainment. It covers recreational activities, that is, games, pastimes or hobbies, and all those activities designed for leisure, such as board games, video games or hobby magazines.
- Aesthetic entertainment. It includes activities and events in the cultural, artistic or aesthetic field, which are attended to feed the spirit or to cultivate an artistic method, such as visiting the museum, attending a poetry recital, reading a novel, gardening. or enroll in a ceramics workshop.
- Tourist entertainment. It covers the events typical of those who travel or discover new locations, for the pure pleasure of knowing more about the world, such as taking excursions, traveling abroad or attending a guided tour of the city.
- Cyberentertainment. It includes recreational activities that can be carried out through computers and technological networks, such as browsing the Internet, checking social networks or chatting with strangers on online platforms.
Importance of entertainment
Entertainment is a fundamental aspect of human life, especially important when it comes to maintaining mental and emotional health. Since the origins of civilization, human beings have cultivated different ways of entertaining themselves, from telling stories to practicing fighting, some with indirect useful purposes and others simply for the delight of leisure.
The absence of entertainment in life causes an increase in stress levels of the individual and leads to hostile, bitter behavior, and the loss of the pleasure of living. On the other hand, the abuse of entertainment or the addictive relationship with it can sabotage productive life and lead to a loss of valuable time.
Benefits of entertainment
Among the benefits of an adequate margin of entertainment in life are:
- Stress reduction and its associated physiological conditions, such as increased blood pressure.
- Greater enjoyment of life which results in a more open disposition to new experiences, more patience and better spirits.
- Promoting lateral thinking and original ideas.
- Opportunity to meet new people and form meaningful social relationships.
- Get new experiences of worth.
- In the case of sports entertainment, you acquire better physical condition.
Continue with: Quality of life
References
- “Entertainment” on Wikipedia.
- “Etymology of Entertain” in the Online Spanish Etymological Dictionary.
- “Entertainment” in the Language Dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy.
- “Entertainment” in Cambridge Dictionary.
