Entertainment as a way to counteract stress in the context of social turbulence

The article analyses the structure of entertainment of a modern Russian and the role of entertainment in times of bad mood and stress. The article uses data from the 2022 Rosstat study — Comprehensive Monitoring of Living Conditions of the Population (CMLC) and the author's study based on the data of 32 in-depth interviews on the topic of emotional health. According to the CMLC, half of the population visits restaurants and cafes; a third — cinemas; spectacular sporting events are preferred by every fourth man and every tenth woman. Women choose intellectual events and more often attend concerts, theatres, museums, and exhibitions. During the year, every fifth person visited at least one type of entertainment, the same number — two types. A third of the population did not attend any entertainment events. The data from in-depth interviews showed that entertainment for a person is what he considers as such — various types of activities that he enjoying doing. The respondents distinguish two main types of entertainment: on personal territory and outside the home. A distinction is also made between entertainment that is organised independently, using one’s own resources (listening to music, watching a movie) and entertainment that must be purchased (going to a restaurant, cinema, gym). During times of stress, people do not resort to entertainment that requires spending money as a means of improving their mood, and resort to simple entertainment that they invent for themselves. The most important and frequently mentioned entertainment is communication with loved ones (joint sports activities, walks, watching TV movies, etc.). They are contrasted with activities that allow one to be alone (drawing, reading a book). People combine different types of entertainment or choose one that is more suitable at a given moment. During periods of poor emotional well-being, two types of strategies are determined to help cope with stress: for the majority – using entertainment during periods of stress or bad mood, and for the minority – refusing entertainment. The choice of entertainment is determined by the season, the geographic location of the place of residence and the type of settlement.