ABOUT THE RANKINGS The activities with the most viable commercial application (Television and Internet) rank at the top, as well as interests well supported by commercial media (Computer Games, Shopping, Sports, Popular Music). Often these are personal pursuits or require little social interaction. Activities in the middle of the rankings are mixed social activities and personal pursuits (Movies in theaters and at home, Clubs and Coffee Houses). The activities at the bottom have the least commercial application (Cultural Performances and Exhibits), and are often characterized as social activities or pursuits people prefer to attend in groups. Just above those are personal pursuits (Reading and Writing), also with virtually no commercial application. Hobbies is a very general and open category, including gardening, sewing, golf, tennis, frisbee, boating, fishing, crafts, pets, and more. Even being this inclusive, it did not rank above television, computer interests, or shopping, and it only slightly edged out spectator sports. The hobbies category did allow for leisure participation in sports. National surveys show that viewers watch more than 14 or even 15 hours of television per week, higher than our survey numbers, and that informative and educational programing is supported very little compared with entertainment. Also, video formats are checked out at more than twice the rate of books. In the movies and videos category we did not create a separate sub category for independent films (documentaries, art house films, foreign films or other independent productions), but the audience numbers are known in the film industry to be miniscule compared with mainstream releases in theaters and subsequent distribution on video and DVD formats. The same is true for international, traditional or independently-produced music when compared with mainstream music produced for mass distribution. It is important to note in the rankings that the average time given to live music is 2.23 hours per week, compared with time spent listening to recorded music on car and home radios, which is 5.5 hours per week. See the Ranking by Average Time Invested and Type of Activity. See the Ranking of Participants Who Indicated 0 Hours Per Activity. Back to 2002 Leisure Activity Survey Results. | Survey of Leisure Interests 332 people were surveyed concerning the time they dedicate to their leisure interests. The survey gaged the participants' commitment of time to activity that does not involve employment, family care, shopping for groceries or pharmaceuticals, religion, exercise or physical therapy. Learn more about the 2002 Survey. |