Furthermore the focus groups and Atkinson follow the same logic in seeing the telephone as symbolic of the issue of social exclusion. Children need to be able to phone in if they stay . Letters do not allow the same contact to be kept with relatives who have moved away. Leisure is a peculiar thing. It is not itself a commodity, although as we has seen participation in leisure activities may require the consumption of commodities.
Leisure also requires time.
Indeed, the very definition of leisure is based on time. In popular discourse leisure is conceived as time at one's own disposal. The concept of leisure is usually defined by contrast with constrained activities. In labour economics leisure is treated as the opposite of paid work. Leisure is often thought of as a residual.