Recently I have read a news article about "rolling cheeze competition" in Britain. This game is British tradition in which people have to grasp the round cheeze rolling down the hill. The interesting thing is that people do not care the possibility to be injured seriously to win. The ambulance car was waiting beside the place so they could carry the hurt people as soon as possible. Like this, some people are attracted to dangerous activities or extreme sports even though they know they can be hurt. It seems illogical, but I think there are reasons why people like to do. Here I present some of them.
First of all, some people feel free from daily stressful lives during enjoying dangerous sports. One survey in social science revealed that as many as 55% of employees in Seoul are suffering from mental stress and 10% of them are in life threatening state. It became common in the modern society that people seek some ways to elude from these stressful lives. I think dangerous sports and activites can provide this freedom to some people. One of the conspicuous traits of extreme sports is that it cannot be found within and completely distinguished from ordinary lives. Also, usually people need some places for dangerous sports which are entirely separated from space for daily life. Sometimes it is enough for these people to get out of work places for sports in order to feel free. This sense of freedom which people can obtain from dangerous sports entices some people.
In addition, some people feel themselves different from other people through dangerous sports or activites. It is one of the characteristics of the modern society that mass meida produce prevailing vogue of fashion, food or even life style itself. For example, since serveral years ago, the stream of well-being have become so popular in Korea and most people are familar with it and try to follow the stream. In these similar people and similar life styles, people want to find their identities and dangerous sports are one of the ways. These activities are not widely spread and only some unique people enjoy them. These people feel themselves distinguished from others whenever they enjoy dangerous sports and activites which majority of people do not enjoy in this society.
In conclusion, people are exausted in daily stressful lives and confused among similar people with the same trends in the modern society. I believe dangerous sports and activites can provide people the sense of freedom and help them find their own identities, which attract some people. |