21 December 2007

Half of American Leisure Time Is Spent Watching Television

Department of Labor statistics show popularity of “transcendental vegetation”

 

Data courtesy of the Department of Labor statistics

Data courtesy of the Department of Labor statistics

The comical but unflattering stereotype of the average American living a “couch potato” lifestyle might be truer to life than some observers had hoped, with half of an American’s average 5.1 hours of daily leisure time devoted to watching television.

According to the Department of Labor’s 2006 daily leisure time survey, Americans age 15 and over, regardless of gender, spend an average 2.6 hours per day watching television, as opposed to 17 minutes spent on sports, exercise or physical recreation. The second most popular leisure activity, at 45 minutes per day, was socializing, including visits with friends or participating in or hosting social events.

The popularity of television is not peculiar to the United States. Studies in other countries have shown, for example, that British citizens spend as much time as Americans in front of the tube. But Americans also spend an average of 19 minutes per day using computers for amusement or games.

The study also found that American men tend to spend 5.7 hours of time in leisure activities, while women engage in only 4.9 hours per day. Men were slightly more likely to participate in sports, exercise or recreation, spending two hours per week versus 1.2 hours per week for women.

Leisure activities also differ according to age. Those over 75 were much more likely than those between 15 and 19 to read for personal interest, at 1.4 hours per weekend versus seven minutes.  Conversely, younger Americans spent an average of one hour using computers for leisure as opposed to 12 minutes for the senior citizens.