Research Article
BibTex RIS Cite

Meditation as a Leisure Activity: A Content and Comment Level Analysis

Year 2024, , 314 - 325, 29.02.2024
https://doi.org/10.53353/atrss.1412002

Abstract

The aim of this study is to determine the scope, metaphors, motivations and outcomes of meditation. In this study, qualitative research method was used. Youtube social media platform was searched using the keyword "meditation". Considering the number of subscribers of the channels, the most followed meditation channel in Turkey was determined. Videos that have reached more than 300,000 viewers and subjects related to renewal and empowerment were selected and content analysis was conducted on 10 videos and 10,803 comments. The motivations for participation in meditation classified under four groups: psychological, social, physical and need for change. Moreover, those, who follow the meditation channel on Youtube meet their psychological, cognitive and spiritual needs through meditation. Therefore, meditation has similar features with many active and passive activities in terms of motivations and outcomes. It is important that not only administrators and psychiatrists, but also public institutions working on public health encourage participation in meditation activities due to the psychological, physiological and physical benefits offered to the person.

References

  • Aftanas, L. & Golosheykin, S. (2005). Impact of regular meditation practice on EEG activity at rest and during evoked negative emotions. International Journal of Neuroscience, 115(6), 893-909.
  • Akhter-Khan, S. C., Drewelies, J. & Wai, K. M. (2022). Coping with loneliness in southern Myanmar. Asian Anthropology, 21(4), 245-262.
  • Arthurs, J., Drakopoulou, S. & Gandini, A. (2018). Researching YouTube. Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies, 24(1), 3–15.
  • Beard, J. G. & Ragheb, M. G. (1983). Measuring leisure motivation. Journal of Leisure Research, 15(3), 219-228. Beatty, J. E. & Torbert, W. R. (2003). The false duality of work and leisure. Journal of Management Inquiry, 12(3), 239-252.
  • Blasche, G., DeBloom, J., Chang, A. & Pichlhoefer, O. (2021). Is a meditation retreat the better vacation? effect of retreats and vacations on fatigue, emotional well-being, and acting with awareness. PLoS One, 16(2).
  • Campos, D., Cebolla, A., Quero, S., Bretón-López, J., Botella, C., Soler, J., García-Campayo, J., Demarzo, M. & Baños, R. M. (2016). Meditation and happiness: Mindfulness and self-compassion may mediate the meditation–happiness relationship. Personality and individual differences, 93, 80-85.
  • Chen, M. & Pang, X. (2012). Leisure motivation: An integrative review. Social Behavior and Personality: an International Journal, 40(7), 1075-1081.
  • Choe, J. (2012). Meditation as Leisure in America. (Unpublished doctorate thesis) The Pennsylvania State University. USA
  • Choe, J., Chick, G. & O’Regan, M. (2015). Meditation as a kind of leisure: the similarities and differences in the United States. Leisure Studies, 34(4), 420-437.
  • Dahl, C. J., Lutz, A. & Davidson, R. J. (2015). Reconstructing and deconstructing the self: cognitive mechanisms in meditation practice. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 19(9), 515-523.
  • Dillard, J. E. & Bates, D. L. (2011). Leisure motivation revisited: why people recreate. Managing Leisure, 16(4), 253-268.
  • Dooley, K. J. (2016). Using manifest content analysis in purchasing and supply management research. Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management, 22(4), 244-246.
  • Duncan, L. & Weissenburger, D. (2003). Effects of a brief meditation program on well-being and loneliness. TCA Journal, 31(1), 4-14.
  • Farrell, J. & McClelland, T. (2017). Consciousness and inner awareness. Review of Philosophy and Psychology, 8, 1-22.
  • Garrett, R., Immink, M. A. & Hillier, S. (2011). Becoming connected: The lived experience of yoga participation after stroke. Disability and Rehabilitation, 33(25-26), 2404-2415.
  • Grafanaki, S., Pearson, D., Cini, F., Godula, D., Mckenzie, B., Nason, S. & Anderegg, M. (2005). Sources of renewal: A qualitative study on the experience and role of leisure in the life of counsellors and psychologists. Counselling Psychology Quarterly, 18(1), 31-40.
  • Hills, P., Argyle, M. & Reeves, R. (2000). Individual differences in leisure satisfactions: An investigation of four theories of leisure motivation. Personality and Individual Differences, 28(4), 763-779.
  • Hjelle, L. A. (1974). Transcendental meditation and psychological health. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 39(1), 623-628.
  • Lomas, T., Cartwright, T., Edginton, T. & Ridge, D. (2015). A qualitative analysis of experiential challenges associated with meditation practice. Mindfulness, 6, 848-860.
  • Margo, C. E. (1999). The placebo effect. Survey of Ophthalmology, 44(1), 31-44.
  • Mathiowetz, D. (2016). “Meditation is Good for Nothing:” Leisure as a Democratic Practice. New Political Science, 38(2), 241-255.
  • McCord, B. E. & Neef, N. A. (2005). Leisure items as controls in the attention condition of functional analyses. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 38(3), 417-426. 10.1901/jaba.2005.116-04
  • Manocha, R. (2000). Why meditation?. Australian Family Physician, 29(12), 1135-1138.
  • Montgomery, G. H. & Kirsch, I. (1997). Classical conditioning and the placebo effect. Pain, 72(1-2), 107-113.
  • Newman, D. B., Tay, L., & Diener, E. (2014). Leisure and subjective well-being: A model of psychological mechanisms as mediating factors. Journal of Happiness Studies, 15, 555-578.
  • O’Connor, C., & Joffe, H. (2020). Intercoder reliability in qualitative research: debates and practical guidelines. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 19, 10.1177/1609406919899220.
  • Pandya, S. P. (2021). Meditation program mitigates loneliness and promotes wellbeing, life satisfaction and contentment among retired older adults: a two-year follow-up study in four South Asian cities. Aging & Mental Health, 25(2), 286-298.
  • Paturel, A. (2012). Meditation as medicine. Neurology Now, 8(4), 30-33.
  • Rose, J., & Johnson, C. W. (2020). Contextualizing reliability and validity in qualitative research: Toward more rigorous and trustworthy qualitative social science in leisure research. Journal of Leisure Research, 51(4), 432-451.
  • Rosenthal, D. & Frank, J. D. (1956). Psychotherapy and the placebo effect. Psychological Bulletin, 53(4), 294.
  • Roth, R. (1987). Transcendental meditation. https://lakshminarayanlenasia.com/articles/Transcendental-Meditation.pdf
  • Saini, G. K., Haseeb, S. B., Taghi-Zada, Z. & Ng, J. Y. (2021). The effects of meditation on individuals facing loneliness: a scoping review. BMC psychology, 9(1), 88.
  • Salmon, P., Sephton, S., Weissbecker, I., Hoover, K., Ulmer, C. & Studts, J. L. (2004). Mindfulness meditation in clinical practice. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 11(4), 434-446.
  • Schmidt, C. & Little, D. E. (2007). Qualitative insights into leisure as a spiritual experience. Journal of Leisure Research, 39(2), 222-247.
  • Searle, M. S. (2000). Is leisure theory needed for leisure studies?. Journal of Leisure Research, 32(1), 138-142.
  • Sedlmeier, P., Eberth, J., Schwarz, M., Zimmermann, D., Haarig, F., Jaeger, S. & Kunze, S. (2012). The psychological effects of meditation: a meta-analysis. Psychological bulletin, 138(6), 1139.
  • Siersdorfer, S., Chelaru, S., Nejdl, W. & San Pedro, J. (2010, April). How useful are your comments? Analyzing and predicting YouTube comments and comment ratings. In Proceedings of the 19th international conference on World wide web (pp. 891-900).
  • Silvestre-López, A. J. (2020). Conceptual metaphor in meditation discourse: An analysis of the spiritual perspective. Journal of Language Studies, 20(1), 35-53.
  • Shapiro, S. L., Jazaieri, H. & de Sousa, S. (2016). Meditation and positive psychology. The Oxford Handbook of Positive Psychology (3rd edn). C. R. Snyder (ed.)
  • Sharma, H. (2015). Meditation: Process and effects. Ayu, 36(3), 233.
  • Stemler, S. E. (2015). Content analysis. Emerging trends in the social and behavioral sciences: An Interdisciplinary, Searchable, and Linkable Resource, 1-14. In Emerging Trends in the Social and Behavioral Sciences (Ed. R. Scott and S. Kosslyn). John Wiley & Sons.
  • Sumter, M. T., Monk-Turner, E. & Turner, C. (2009). The benefits of meditation practice in the correctional setting. Journal of Correctional Health Care, 15(1), 47-57.
  • Tang, Y. Y., Hölzel, B. K., & Posner, M. I. (2015). The neuroscience of mindfulness meditation. Nature reviews neuroscience, 16(4), 213-225.
  • Totzeck, C., Teismann, T., Hofmann, S. G., von Brachel, R., Pflug, V., Wannemüller, A. & Margraf, J. (2020). Loving-kindness meditation promotes mental health in university students. Mindfulness, 11, 1623-1631.
  • Tsaur, S. H., Yen, C. H. & Chen, Y. T. (2021). Can leisure crafting enhance leisure engagement? The role of time structure and leisure type. Leisure Studies, 40(6), 747-763.
  • Thelwall, M. (2018). Social media analytics for YouTube comments: Potential and limitations. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 21(3), 303-316.
  • Wachtel, P. (2014). Knowing oneself from the inside out, knowing oneself from the outside in: The “inner” and “outer” worlds and their link through action. In Relational Psychoanalysis, Volume 5 (pp. 427-445). Routledge.
  • Wallace, R. K. & Benson, H. (1972). The physiology of meditation. Scientific American, 226(2), 84-91.
  • Walsh, R. (1983). Meditation practice and research. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 23(1), 18-50.
  • Wielgosz, J., Goldberg, S. B., Kral, T. R., Dunne, J. D., & Davidson, R. J. (2019). Mindfulness meditation and psychopathology. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 15, 285-316.
  • West, M. (1979). Meditation. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 135(5), 457-467.

Boş Zaman Etkinliği Olarak Meditasyon: İçerik ve Yorum Düzeyi Analizi

Year 2024, , 314 - 325, 29.02.2024
https://doi.org/10.53353/atrss.1412002

Abstract

Bu çalışmanın amacı meditasyonun kapsamını, metaforlarını, motivasyonlarını ve çıktılarını belirlemektir. Nitel araştırma yöntemi kullanılan çalışmada Youtube sosyal medya platformunda "meditasyon" anahtar kelimesi kullanılarak arama yapılmış, kanalların abone sayıları dikkate alınarak Türkiye'nin en çok takip edilen meditasyon kanalı belirlenmiştir. 300.000'den fazla izleyiciye ulaşan videolar ve bu videolara ilişkin yorumlar, yenilenme ve güçlenme konularını kapsayan içeriklere göre değerlendirilmiştir. Bu doğrultuda 10 video ve 10.803 yoruma içerik analizi yapılmıştır. Çalışma sonucunda Youtube'daki meditasyon kanalını takip edenlerin psikolojik, bilişsel ve ruhsal ihtiyaçlarına yönelik motivasyon ve sonuçların birçok aktif ve pasif aktiviteyle benzer özelliklere sahip olduğu belirlenmiştir. Kişiye sunulan psikolojik, fizyolojik ve fiziksel faydaları nedeniyle sadece yöneticilerin ve psikiyatristlerin değil, halk sağlığı konusunda çalışan kamu kurumlarının da meditasyon faaliyetlerine katılımı teşvik etmesi önemlidir.

References

  • Aftanas, L. & Golosheykin, S. (2005). Impact of regular meditation practice on EEG activity at rest and during evoked negative emotions. International Journal of Neuroscience, 115(6), 893-909.
  • Akhter-Khan, S. C., Drewelies, J. & Wai, K. M. (2022). Coping with loneliness in southern Myanmar. Asian Anthropology, 21(4), 245-262.
  • Arthurs, J., Drakopoulou, S. & Gandini, A. (2018). Researching YouTube. Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies, 24(1), 3–15.
  • Beard, J. G. & Ragheb, M. G. (1983). Measuring leisure motivation. Journal of Leisure Research, 15(3), 219-228. Beatty, J. E. & Torbert, W. R. (2003). The false duality of work and leisure. Journal of Management Inquiry, 12(3), 239-252.
  • Blasche, G., DeBloom, J., Chang, A. & Pichlhoefer, O. (2021). Is a meditation retreat the better vacation? effect of retreats and vacations on fatigue, emotional well-being, and acting with awareness. PLoS One, 16(2).
  • Campos, D., Cebolla, A., Quero, S., Bretón-López, J., Botella, C., Soler, J., García-Campayo, J., Demarzo, M. & Baños, R. M. (2016). Meditation and happiness: Mindfulness and self-compassion may mediate the meditation–happiness relationship. Personality and individual differences, 93, 80-85.
  • Chen, M. & Pang, X. (2012). Leisure motivation: An integrative review. Social Behavior and Personality: an International Journal, 40(7), 1075-1081.
  • Choe, J. (2012). Meditation as Leisure in America. (Unpublished doctorate thesis) The Pennsylvania State University. USA
  • Choe, J., Chick, G. & O’Regan, M. (2015). Meditation as a kind of leisure: the similarities and differences in the United States. Leisure Studies, 34(4), 420-437.
  • Dahl, C. J., Lutz, A. & Davidson, R. J. (2015). Reconstructing and deconstructing the self: cognitive mechanisms in meditation practice. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 19(9), 515-523.
  • Dillard, J. E. & Bates, D. L. (2011). Leisure motivation revisited: why people recreate. Managing Leisure, 16(4), 253-268.
  • Dooley, K. J. (2016). Using manifest content analysis in purchasing and supply management research. Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management, 22(4), 244-246.
  • Duncan, L. & Weissenburger, D. (2003). Effects of a brief meditation program on well-being and loneliness. TCA Journal, 31(1), 4-14.
  • Farrell, J. & McClelland, T. (2017). Consciousness and inner awareness. Review of Philosophy and Psychology, 8, 1-22.
  • Garrett, R., Immink, M. A. & Hillier, S. (2011). Becoming connected: The lived experience of yoga participation after stroke. Disability and Rehabilitation, 33(25-26), 2404-2415.
  • Grafanaki, S., Pearson, D., Cini, F., Godula, D., Mckenzie, B., Nason, S. & Anderegg, M. (2005). Sources of renewal: A qualitative study on the experience and role of leisure in the life of counsellors and psychologists. Counselling Psychology Quarterly, 18(1), 31-40.
  • Hills, P., Argyle, M. & Reeves, R. (2000). Individual differences in leisure satisfactions: An investigation of four theories of leisure motivation. Personality and Individual Differences, 28(4), 763-779.
  • Hjelle, L. A. (1974). Transcendental meditation and psychological health. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 39(1), 623-628.
  • Lomas, T., Cartwright, T., Edginton, T. & Ridge, D. (2015). A qualitative analysis of experiential challenges associated with meditation practice. Mindfulness, 6, 848-860.
  • Margo, C. E. (1999). The placebo effect. Survey of Ophthalmology, 44(1), 31-44.
  • Mathiowetz, D. (2016). “Meditation is Good for Nothing:” Leisure as a Democratic Practice. New Political Science, 38(2), 241-255.
  • McCord, B. E. & Neef, N. A. (2005). Leisure items as controls in the attention condition of functional analyses. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 38(3), 417-426. 10.1901/jaba.2005.116-04
  • Manocha, R. (2000). Why meditation?. Australian Family Physician, 29(12), 1135-1138.
  • Montgomery, G. H. & Kirsch, I. (1997). Classical conditioning and the placebo effect. Pain, 72(1-2), 107-113.
  • Newman, D. B., Tay, L., & Diener, E. (2014). Leisure and subjective well-being: A model of psychological mechanisms as mediating factors. Journal of Happiness Studies, 15, 555-578.
  • O’Connor, C., & Joffe, H. (2020). Intercoder reliability in qualitative research: debates and practical guidelines. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 19, 10.1177/1609406919899220.
  • Pandya, S. P. (2021). Meditation program mitigates loneliness and promotes wellbeing, life satisfaction and contentment among retired older adults: a two-year follow-up study in four South Asian cities. Aging & Mental Health, 25(2), 286-298.
  • Paturel, A. (2012). Meditation as medicine. Neurology Now, 8(4), 30-33.
  • Rose, J., & Johnson, C. W. (2020). Contextualizing reliability and validity in qualitative research: Toward more rigorous and trustworthy qualitative social science in leisure research. Journal of Leisure Research, 51(4), 432-451.
  • Rosenthal, D. & Frank, J. D. (1956). Psychotherapy and the placebo effect. Psychological Bulletin, 53(4), 294.
  • Roth, R. (1987). Transcendental meditation. https://lakshminarayanlenasia.com/articles/Transcendental-Meditation.pdf
  • Saini, G. K., Haseeb, S. B., Taghi-Zada, Z. & Ng, J. Y. (2021). The effects of meditation on individuals facing loneliness: a scoping review. BMC psychology, 9(1), 88.
  • Salmon, P., Sephton, S., Weissbecker, I., Hoover, K., Ulmer, C. & Studts, J. L. (2004). Mindfulness meditation in clinical practice. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 11(4), 434-446.
  • Schmidt, C. & Little, D. E. (2007). Qualitative insights into leisure as a spiritual experience. Journal of Leisure Research, 39(2), 222-247.
  • Searle, M. S. (2000). Is leisure theory needed for leisure studies?. Journal of Leisure Research, 32(1), 138-142.
  • Sedlmeier, P., Eberth, J., Schwarz, M., Zimmermann, D., Haarig, F., Jaeger, S. & Kunze, S. (2012). The psychological effects of meditation: a meta-analysis. Psychological bulletin, 138(6), 1139.
  • Siersdorfer, S., Chelaru, S., Nejdl, W. & San Pedro, J. (2010, April). How useful are your comments? Analyzing and predicting YouTube comments and comment ratings. In Proceedings of the 19th international conference on World wide web (pp. 891-900).
  • Silvestre-López, A. J. (2020). Conceptual metaphor in meditation discourse: An analysis of the spiritual perspective. Journal of Language Studies, 20(1), 35-53.
  • Shapiro, S. L., Jazaieri, H. & de Sousa, S. (2016). Meditation and positive psychology. The Oxford Handbook of Positive Psychology (3rd edn). C. R. Snyder (ed.)
  • Sharma, H. (2015). Meditation: Process and effects. Ayu, 36(3), 233.
  • Stemler, S. E. (2015). Content analysis. Emerging trends in the social and behavioral sciences: An Interdisciplinary, Searchable, and Linkable Resource, 1-14. In Emerging Trends in the Social and Behavioral Sciences (Ed. R. Scott and S. Kosslyn). John Wiley & Sons.
  • Sumter, M. T., Monk-Turner, E. & Turner, C. (2009). The benefits of meditation practice in the correctional setting. Journal of Correctional Health Care, 15(1), 47-57.
  • Tang, Y. Y., Hölzel, B. K., & Posner, M. I. (2015). The neuroscience of mindfulness meditation. Nature reviews neuroscience, 16(4), 213-225.
  • Totzeck, C., Teismann, T., Hofmann, S. G., von Brachel, R., Pflug, V., Wannemüller, A. & Margraf, J. (2020). Loving-kindness meditation promotes mental health in university students. Mindfulness, 11, 1623-1631.
  • Tsaur, S. H., Yen, C. H. & Chen, Y. T. (2021). Can leisure crafting enhance leisure engagement? The role of time structure and leisure type. Leisure Studies, 40(6), 747-763.
  • Thelwall, M. (2018). Social media analytics for YouTube comments: Potential and limitations. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 21(3), 303-316.
  • Wachtel, P. (2014). Knowing oneself from the inside out, knowing oneself from the outside in: The “inner” and “outer” worlds and their link through action. In Relational Psychoanalysis, Volume 5 (pp. 427-445). Routledge.
  • Wallace, R. K. & Benson, H. (1972). The physiology of meditation. Scientific American, 226(2), 84-91.
  • Walsh, R. (1983). Meditation practice and research. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 23(1), 18-50.
  • Wielgosz, J., Goldberg, S. B., Kral, T. R., Dunne, J. D., & Davidson, R. J. (2019). Mindfulness meditation and psychopathology. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 15, 285-316.
  • West, M. (1979). Meditation. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 135(5), 457-467.
There are 51 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Subjects Recreation, Leisure and Tourism Geography
Journal Section Research Articles
Authors

Selin Kama 0000-0002-2707-091X

Publication Date February 29, 2024
Submission Date December 29, 2023
Acceptance Date February 9, 2024
Published in Issue Year 2024

Cite

APA Kama, S. (2024). Meditation as a Leisure Activity: A Content and Comment Level Analysis. GSI Journals Serie A: Advancements in Tourism Recreation and Sports Sciences, 7(1), 314-325. https://doi.org/10.53353/atrss.1412002
22039