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On an average day in 2019, nearly everyone age 15 and older (95 percent) engaged in some sort of leisure activity, such as watching TV, socializing, or exercising. Men spent more time in leisure activities (5.5 hours) than did women (4.9 hours).
Watching TV was the leisure activity that occupied the most time, accounting for just over half of all leisure time, on average. Men spent 3 hours per day watching TV, while women spent 2.6 hours. Socializing, such as visiting with friends or attending or hosting social events, was the next most common leisure activity, accounting for just under 40 minutes a day for both men and women.
Activity | Men | Women |
---|---|---|
Total, all leisure and sports activities |
5.53 | 4.86 |
Watching TV |
3.00 | 2.64 |
Socializing and communicating |
0.62 | 0.66 |
Playing games and computer use for leisure |
0.55 | 0.31 |
Other leisure and sports activities, including travel |
0.42 | 0.41 |
Participating in sports, exercise and recreation |
0.39 | 0.23 |
Relaxing/thinking |
0.32 | 0.31 |
Reading |
0.23 | 0.31 |
On average, adults age 75 and older spent 7.7 hours engaged in leisure activities per day—more than any other age group; 35- to 44-year-olds spent 4.0 hours engaged in leisure and sports activities per day—less than other age groups.
Time spent reading for personal interest varied greatly by age. People age 75 and older averaged 44 minutes of reading per day. People ages 15 to 44 read on average for 10 minutes or less per day.
Age | Total, all leisure and sports activities | Participating in sports, exercise and recreation | Socializing and communicating | Watching TV | Reading | Relaxing/thinking | Playing games and computer use for leisure | Other leisure and sports activities, including travel |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
15 to 19 years |
5.34 | 0.56 | 0.76 | 2.04 | 0.13 | 0.24 | 1.12 | 0.49 |
20 to 24 years |
4.91 | 0.60 | 0.55 | 2.22 | 0.10 | 0.19 | 0.81 | 0.46 |
25 to 34 years |
4.28 | 0.33 | 0.65 | 1.99 | 0.12 | 0.24 | 0.52 | 0.42 |
35 to 44 years |
3.99 | 0.27 | 0.59 | 2.03 | 0.16 | 0.30 | 0.28 | 0.37 |
45 to 54 years |
4.38 | 0.21 | 0.59 | 2.44 | 0.25 | 0.24 | 0.22 | 0.43 |
55 to 64 years |
5.45 | 0.25 | 0.67 | 3.24 | 0.28 | 0.38 | 0.22 | 0.40 |
65 to 74 years |
7.10 | 0.24 | 0.64 | 4.48 | 0.53 | 0.43 | 0.33 | 0.45 |
75 years and over |
7.67 | 0.20 | 0.70 | 4.77 | 0.73 | 0.52 | 0.43 | 0.31 |
These data are from the American Time Use Survey. For more information, see "American Time Use Survey — 2019 Results." Also see charts of the latest American Time Use Survey data.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Men spent 5.5 hours per day in leisure activities, women 4.9 hours, in 2019 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2020/men-spent-5-point-5-hours-per-day-in-leisure-activities-women-4-point-9-hours-in-2019.htm (visited March 27, 2025).