Introduction

There are increasing concerns that people in modern societies spend too much of their leisure time on activities such as shopping and watching television and that this undermines human wellbeing and damages the environment.

Objectives

This paper explores the relationships between materialism, environmental values and life satisfaction on the one hand, and different forms of leisure activities on the other. In particular, it addresses the differences between serious or intrinsically motivating leisure activities and casual or extrinsically motivating activities.

Method

Three survey studies were conducted among 16 to 25 year olds in the UK (n = 338), Spain (n = 417) and China (n = 961).

Results

Reading books was negatively related to materialism and positively to environmental values and behaviours. Playing sports was associated with higher wellbeing. Moreover, materialism was negatively associated with environmental values and behaviour. Life satisfaction was higher among those with stronger environmental values and weaker materialism.

Conclusion

The findings suggest that sustainable lifestyles, characterised by higher wellbeing, higher environmental concern and behaviour and lower materialism can be found in each nation. Moreover, such lifestyles are associated with different kinds of leisure engagement. Examining the potentially positive role of reading books rather than being immersed in screen time deserves further attention.