The document discusses factors that have contributed and may contribute to changes in leisure time. It explores how the average work week declined from 72 hours in 1850 to 40 hours in 1980 due to the rise of a leisure class, leisure ethic, technology, and smaller family sizes. However, leisure time has declined since 1980 as more married couples work longer hours, children have less free time, and more people work 50+ hour weeks. Americans actually have more leisure time than perceived due to inaccurate surveys, passive leisure like TV, and viewing structured activities like sports as non-leisure. Future trends may cause leisure to decline due to limitless materialism and more women working, but technology and an aging population may increase free time. Problems include