Where do people experience flow in the 21st century? Re-assessing activities and environments for flow
Flow supports psychological wellbeing. But where do optimal experiences of flow occur? Existing studies of flow activities are increasingly outdated and don’t account for changing patterns of time use. Further, the physical environments where flow experiences happen have not been empirically examine...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2025-12-01
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| Series: | Cogent Psychology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/23311908.2025.2538737 |
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| author | Amy Isham Megan Cumming Sara Chikhi Tim Jackson |
| author_facet | Amy Isham Megan Cumming Sara Chikhi Tim Jackson |
| author_sort | Amy Isham |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Flow supports psychological wellbeing. But where do optimal experiences of flow occur? Existing studies of flow activities are increasingly outdated and don’t account for changing patterns of time use. Further, the physical environments where flow experiences happen have not been empirically examined. This research explores flow activities and environments within a UK-based (Study 1, n = 4000) and international (Study 2, n = 839) sample. Commonly reported flow activities were largely consistent with existing research, with activities such as work, sport, reading, arts, and contemplative practices being frequently mentioned. Flow environments were varied, but the home and nature were prominent themes. Whilst certain flow activities tended to be reported alongside certain flow environments (e.g. sports outdoors and computer in residential spaces), others (e.g. art, music, reading) were not associated with specific locations. Together, findings consolidate understandings of the common sites of flow and provide preliminary insights into the role physical environments might play in supporting flow. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d0e6bca1287d442faaa0f1a939f8a1d0 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2331-1908 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Cogent Psychology |
| spelling | doaj-art-d0e6bca1287d442faaa0f1a939f8a1d02025-08-20T03:58:18ZengTaylor & Francis GroupCogent Psychology2331-19082025-12-0112110.1080/23311908.2025.2538737Where do people experience flow in the 21st century? Re-assessing activities and environments for flowAmy Isham0Megan Cumming1Sara Chikhi2Tim Jackson3School of Psychology, Swansea University, Swansea, UKSchool of Psychology, Swansea University, Swansea, UKSchool of Psychology, University of Southampton, Southampton, UKCentre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity (CUSP), University of Surrey, Guildford, UKFlow supports psychological wellbeing. But where do optimal experiences of flow occur? Existing studies of flow activities are increasingly outdated and don’t account for changing patterns of time use. Further, the physical environments where flow experiences happen have not been empirically examined. This research explores flow activities and environments within a UK-based (Study 1, n = 4000) and international (Study 2, n = 839) sample. Commonly reported flow activities were largely consistent with existing research, with activities such as work, sport, reading, arts, and contemplative practices being frequently mentioned. Flow environments were varied, but the home and nature were prominent themes. Whilst certain flow activities tended to be reported alongside certain flow environments (e.g. sports outdoors and computer in residential spaces), others (e.g. art, music, reading) were not associated with specific locations. Together, findings consolidate understandings of the common sites of flow and provide preliminary insights into the role physical environments might play in supporting flow.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/23311908.2025.2538737Flow experiencestime useactivitiesenvironmentswellbeingSocial Sciences |
| spellingShingle | Amy Isham Megan Cumming Sara Chikhi Tim Jackson Where do people experience flow in the 21st century? Re-assessing activities and environments for flow Cogent Psychology Flow experiences time use activities environments wellbeing Social Sciences |
| title | Where do people experience flow in the 21st century? Re-assessing activities and environments for flow |
| title_full | Where do people experience flow in the 21st century? Re-assessing activities and environments for flow |
| title_fullStr | Where do people experience flow in the 21st century? Re-assessing activities and environments for flow |
| title_full_unstemmed | Where do people experience flow in the 21st century? Re-assessing activities and environments for flow |
| title_short | Where do people experience flow in the 21st century? Re-assessing activities and environments for flow |
| title_sort | where do people experience flow in the 21st century re assessing activities and environments for flow |
| topic | Flow experiences time use activities environments wellbeing Social Sciences |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/23311908.2025.2538737 |
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