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At "Leisure Theory from the Information Age" from Wes Cooper and "Reflections on Recreation, Park, and Leisure Studies" by Daniel L. Dustin and Thomas L. Goodale, the authors raise two very important Concerns about the growth and Effect of an increasingly symbolically constructed culture. This new civilization has developed due to information technology and these changes in our civilization have generated a more narrowly specialized type of education for professional careers that's increasingly educated electronically.

Subsequently, these changes in education also have undermined the traditional community of individuals concerned with values and contributing to the public good. As Cooper describes it, our work and leisure has increasingly taken the form of "symbolic manipulation" rather than manipulating the physical environment, to ensure that and more "we and our environments are increasingly becoming representational constructs." This increasingly symbolization of the society has influenced both work and leisure, in order that whether one is in work or engaged in recreational activities, one is increasingly not interacting with the physical as with a universe. For example, instead of going bowling in a centre with a bunch of friends, one can participate in an online bowling game with a network of other online bowlers one conveys with electronically.

Instead of meeting friends to speak about an event in person or even on the phone, one can experience an event via TV or an online presentation and then text back and forth with others about that. Instead of going to a movie theater with family and friends members, one can download a film or see a or series of video Webisodes on Hulu or even YouTube, and then share mails about it with other audiences. The development of video via social gaming sides like FarmVille and Mafia Wars, even in which one gets and gear to assist one get ahead in the game, are another example of this growing manipulation of constructs in everyday life.

Cooper's article is devoted to considering what to do about this transformation into a more society that is emblematic. His Alpha model indicates that in the future, these emblematic worlds will become increasingly more important, and we need to be better able to adjust to this increasing ratio of the emblematic to the non-symbolic in our planet, based on whether we see this change as something to be valued or even a warning about the future that's increasingly a symbolic construct. Or as Cooper puts it: "Alpha.gestures towards future possibilities, such as the increasing importance of virtual spaces in our own lives." (p.

Inside this Alpha perspective, this growth of social digital spaces will become and more a natural part of our own lives, which we all take for granted, much like we've taken for granted the development of a subjective consciousness as an essential part of our personal identity. As such, this expanding influence of virtual spaces will contribute to making new forms of educational institutions, work, and leisure, for example, as reflected in the rising number of online classes and graduate applications, excelling at work, and online leisure activities.

As a result, the attention in leisure education, as well as in other areas, has shifted more to preparing students to get well-paying jobs in their career specialization, and this education has increasingly been provided through distance learning, making it more convenient for students to take classes in their home or workplace in whatever time is most convenient for them. As Dustin and Goodale observe: "The greatest expression of this is distance learning, correspondence courses and degree applications in electronic form. Not because the printing press has technology had such an impact on learning and the dissemination of information." This change has also meant that there has been a decline in face-to-face interaction, and degrees and certifications have become like commodities, which can be purchased to make one more marketable for a livelihood.

These are transformations, made possibly by the increase of new technology and new systems for delivery of information, and they have been changing educational systems, just as they have been changing interaction in everyday life. As an example, computers, along with cell-phones, e-mail, and online accounts also have become essentials in life, as well as in education, whereas they were more like personal luxuries per decade past. However, while Goodale and Dustin assert that these high tech developments are detrimental to the educational experience, I think these developments open up tremendous opportunities for individuals who once couldn't get an education because they can now get it at their convenience.

Certainly, this system could be abused, such as when hires someone else to take their classes, compose their papers, and then post on line for them, without any method for the professor to verify exactly who is taking the class, because of the anonymity of the computer (unless a certain system is devised to record who is in front of the computer typing a paper or online answer). But generally I think the system provides great opportunities. For example, there are now digitized libraries of material online, and it is no longer necessary to spend some time going to a physical place, which entails fighting traffic, waiting in line, or even searching on stacks to get this information. Additionally, the privatization of leisure has opened up many new livelihood opportunities in the private sector for people that have the ability to respond to these opportunities or make new professions for themselves, such as a leisure researcher or consultant, that advises people on the brand new leisure and recreational chances. Truly, this has become a new world with all kinds of possibilities for people who can respond and adapt.

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