Leisure Time Expanded in 2020

The amount of time people aged 15 or older spent in leisure activities increased in 2020 compared with 2019—rising from 4.99 to 5.53 hours on an average day, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' American Time Use Survey. Americans devoted more time to many leisure activities including playing games and using the computer for leisure (up 38 percent), reading (16 percent), sports and exercise (16 percent), and watching television (11 percent). 

One of the leisure categories that lost ground in 2020 was "socializing and communicating." Americans spent 18 percent less time socializing and communicating on an average day in 2020 than in 2019. A more detailed look at this category reveals why, with examples taken verbatim from the American Time Use Survey Activity Lexicon...

Activities included in the category "socializing and communicating"

Entertaining family

Visiting with family

Hanging out with family

Hugging or kissing family

Arguing with family

Entertaining friends

Hanging out with friends

Talking with friends

Hugging/kissing friends

Giving gifts to friends

Opening Christmas gifts with others

Opening birthday presents with others

Talking with neighbors

Greeting neighbors

Visiting adult in nursing home

While we spent less time engaging in the above activities in 2020, we spent 33 percent more time "relaxing and thinking," according to the BLS. These are some of the activities included in this category: doing nothing, wasting time, lying around, hanging out alone, daydreaming, worrying, crying, and grieving.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, American Time Use Survey

How Many Are Watching TV at Midnight?

On an average day, 79 percent of Americans aged 15 or older watch television as a primary activity—meaning their main activity at the time. The percentage who watch television is lowest among 15-to-19-year-olds (73 percent) and highest among people aged 65 or older (89 percent). These facts come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' American Time Use Survey.

The survey collects even more detail about the activities in which people engage on an average day. It records the time of day, for example, and whether respondents are alone or with others. Here is the percentage of Americans aged 15 or older who are watching television at selected hours of the day...

Percent watching television
6% are watching from midnight to 1 am
1% are watching from 3 to 4 am (lowest point)
13% are watching from noon to 1 pm
38% are watching from 6 to 7 pm
59% are watching from 8 to 9 pm (highest point)

For many, watching television is a solitary activity. Forty-eight percent of television time is spent alone, 52 percent with others.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Television, Capturing America's Attention at Prime Time and Beyond

Favorite Leisure Activities

Watching television is the favorite leisure activity of the largest share of Americans, with 42 percent citing it as one of their two or three favorites. The list of favorite activities varies surprisingly little by generation or gender. Here are the leisure activities mentioned as favorites by at least 10 percent of adults...

42% watching TV
37% reading
19% spending time on computer/Internet
18% spending time with family/friends
11% watching/going to the movies
10% exercising/working out
10% playing video/computer games

Source: Harris Interactive, We Work Before We Play

Are We Having Fun Yet?

Number of Americans who participate in selected leisure activities on an average day...

190,701,000 watch television
  57,231,000 read for personal interest
    3,311,000 attend a movie
    2,691,000 do arts and crafts
    2,647,000 attend a sports event
    1,411,000 attend performing arts event
       546,000 write for personal interest
       540,000 vist museums, zoos, art galleries, or gardens

Note: Performing arts include concerts, musicals, ballet, theater, dance, jazz bars, and comedy clubs.
Source: National Endowment for the Arts, An Average Day in the Arts: State Participation Patterns from the American Time Use Survey for 2006-2010