Meanings Attached to Sports In the Elderly: Note Participant in Musical Encounters

Abstract

This study aimed at investigating the meanings associated to leisure by a group of senior consumers. The study departs from the literature con consumption and leisure for senior individuals, showing the transition between a negative view, based on the restrictions to consumption, to a more positive view of aging, supported by recent studies. The research used methods from urban ethnography, especially participant observation and in-depth interviews, more adequate to the nature of the phenomenon under investigation. Fieldwork was carried out with a group of senior consumers that meet at the Palácio do Catete, in Rio de Janeiro. During participant observation informal interviews were conducted with participants, which were registered in field notes, in addition to photography and videos. At the end of the participant observation, which lasted six months, 16 in-depth interviews were conducted, which were recorded and transcripts made of each. The analysis used discourse analysis techniques. Six different categories of meanings emerged from the field: (1) hedonism; (2) sociability; (3) nostalgy; (4) quality of life; (5) identity (re)construction; and (6) learning. It was found that the immersion in this leisure activity allowed senior participants to achieve a new meaning for aging.