Theorising Fun

Abstract

There has been very little attempt in sociology to theorise fun. There have been few concerted efforts in any discipline to theorise fun. This is perhaps because it feels antithetical to having fun to imagine that it is something that needs to be or can be theorised. We tend to have quite a naturalistic view of it as something that just happens—particularly as a result or by-product of something we think of as more tangible or susceptible to theorising, like happiness or well-being. However, it is important to situate fun theoretically, as it is with any social action or situation, in order to be able to distinguish it from other assumed positive or affective phenomena. This is a first attempt in sociology to do such a thing, but there have been notable attempts elsewhere—in psychology with Mary Wolfenstein, in leisure studies with Walter Podilchak and in Human Computer Interaction (HCI) Studies with Mark Blythe and Marc Hassenzahl in particular. With regard to this book there is a discussion of the affective or emotional utility of fun in social settings. This provides the grounds for exploring people’s everyday experiences of fun. In this respect a distinct way of examining fun as related to—but not entirely dictated by—institutional relationships is suggested.