chapter 1
HOW AMERICANS SPEND THEIR TIME

DEFINING LEISURE AND RECREATION

The word "leisure" comes from the Latin word licere, which means "to be allowed." A common American view considers leisure as something allowed after one's work is done: time that is free after required activities. Recreation, however, is a different matter. The Oxford American Dictionary defines recreation as "a process or means of refreshing or entertaining oneself after work by some pleasurable activity." Its Latin and French roots, which mean "restore to health" or "create anew," suggest rejuvenation of strength or spirit. While leisure activities are pastimes, recreational activities are intended to restore physical or mental health.

HOW MUCH FREE TIME?

Americans enjoy some of the highest standards of living in the world. Although the United States trails other countries in such significant measures of health and wellbeing as infant mortality and life expectancy, the world generally respects—even envies—the quality of life enjoyed by most Americans.

Americans do work hard. Although the number of hours of nonwork time available to Americans has not changed significantly since the 1970s, public opinion surveys consistently report that Americans believe they have less free time today than in the past. Workers who participated in the Shell Poll, a study conducted by Shell Oil Company in 2000, indicated that if given a choice between an extra day off from work or an extra day's wages every two weeks, they preferred more time off by a margin of 58% to 40%. For workers aged thirty-five to sixty-four, 67% indicated that they would rather have more time off.

Working parents report the least free time. According to the Shell Poll, only 48% of mothers believe they have enough personal leisure time. This reflects a dramatic decline from a Gallup survey conducted in 1963, when 70% of mothers were happy with their free time. Almost three-quarters of working mothers reported to Shell that on Sunday nights, after doing household chores and running errands on weekends, they do not feel rested and ready for a new work week.

In the free time Americans do have, they are sleeping less. According to Sleep in America, a survey published in 2002 by the nonprofit National Sleep Foundation, 68% of poll respondents admitted getting less than eight hours' sleep on weeknights. Nearly a quarter of those surveyed believed they were not getting the minimum amount needed to avoid feelings of drowsiness during the day.

A PERSONAL CHOICE

People who perform certain activities all day at a job often pursue dramatically different activities during their time off. For example, someone who sits behind a desk at work may choose a physically active pastime, such as recreational walking. Similarly, a person with a job that requires demanding physical labor may choose a more sedentary activity, such as playing computer games, reading, or painting. A person who lives in a flat region may go to the mountains to seek excitement, while someone living in the mountains might seek a sandy ocean beach on which to relax.

Other people may enjoy one field so much that they perform that activity not only professionally but also as a form of recreation. For workers who derive little satisfaction from their occupation, recreation can become even more important to personal happiness.

HOW DO AMERICANS LIKE TO SPEND THEIR LEISURE TIME?

A survey conducted in October 2003 by Humphrey Taylor of the Harris organization asked Americans to name their two or three favorite ways to spend leisure time. The top response was reading, chosen by 24% of those polled, with watching television and spending time with family or children each following closely, both being cited by 17% of those asked. Other popular activities included fishing (9%), going to movies (7%), socializing with friends or neighbors (7%), playing team sports (6%), exercise activities such as weights and aerobics (6%), and gardening (6%). To a lesser extent the respondents also mentioned using a computer, participating in church activities, dining out, and watching sports (5% each); and walking, listening to music, shopping, traveling, hunting, and making crafts (4% each), among other choices.

Over the eight-year span this poll was conducted, the popularity of most of these activities remained relatively constant, although watching television and reading showed slight declines over that time, with perhaps the most significant change being the decline in activities that involved exercise, which fell from 38% in 1995 to 29% in 2003.

Although Americans named these as their favorite recreational activities, the way they actually spent their leisure time was not necessarily the same, according to a 2001 survey conducted by the Leisure Trends Group. While this poll found reading to be the most-cited activity, when asked how they had spent their leisure time the previous day, twice as many survey respondents reported watching television as reading. Americans may also not always have a choice of how to spend their free time. For example, housecleaning ranked eighth in the survey of how Americans spent leisure time but did not rank at all among the top ten favorite leisure-time activities.

Teenagers

The 2003 Gallup Youth Survey found that teens' favorite ways to spend an evening included hanging out with friends or family (34%); watching television, movies, or sports (19%); playing video games (8%); or playing sports/exercising (7%). Only 3% each said they liked to read or talk on the phone, and using the Internet or a computer, sleeping, shopping, listening to music, and eating were each mentioned by just 1%.

There were significant differences in responses between boys and girls—only 26% of boys liked to hang out with friends or family, while this activity was preferred by 43% of girls. On the other hand, 15% of boys mentioned playing video games, while no girls cited this activity. Five percent of girls liked to read, while only 1% of boys did, and 5% of girls liked to talk on the phone, while less than 1% of boys did. More than twice as many boys (10%) as girls (4%) said they liked to play sports or exercise.

READING

Reading is one of the favorite leisure activities of Americans. A 2002 Gallup poll found that the overwhelming majority (83.5%) of Americans said they had read all or part of at least one book in the year preceding the survey. The average number of books read per year was sixteen among those who had read one book or more.

Choosing Books to Read

According to a 2002 Gallup poll, Americans had a wide range of reading interests. Thirty percent of those polled said they were "very likely" to choose biographies or books about history, with thriller or suspense novels appealing to 24% of those who were asked. Books about religion or theology followed close behind, at 24%, while self-improvement books (23%), mystery novels (21%), current fiction (20%) and books about current events (16%) were also popular. When asked what motivated them to read, 32% said they did so for entertainment, while 47% said they primarily read to learn.

Reading interests differed depending on age, although there was some overlap in the subjects that drew the most readers. In Do Reading Tastes Age? (2003), Gallup researchers Jennifer Robison and Steve Crabtree found that a higher percentage of those aged eighteen to twenty-nine said that they were "very likely" or "somewhat likely" to read horror novels (44%) than those age sixty-five and older (7%); the same relationship held up for science fiction novels, with 40% of young adults citing these compared to 23% of seniors. Americans between thirty and forty-nine had the most interest in business management and leadership books (48%) and personal finance books (44%) of any age group, perhaps due to their need to enhance careers or pay for the costs of raising children and sending them to college. Biographies and books about history (the most popular category overall), mystery novels, thriller or suspense novels, classic literature, current events books, books on religion and theology, and current literary fiction held relatively steady among age groups, with the last-named category most popular with adults aged fifty to sixty-four (59%) and least popular with young adults and seniors (44% each). (See Table 1.1.)

SOCIALIZING

Second in popularity as a leisure-time activity, according to the Harris poll conducted by Taylor in 2003, was the time-honored tradition of socializing with family or children. When the 17% who named this activity were added to the 7% who cited socializing with friends or neighbors, the total who chose socializing was 24%, the same amount as the number one choice of reading.

TELEVISION VIEWING

Americans also spend a considerable amount of their leisure time in front of the television, according to Harris Interactive. Where once all television viewers had only a handful of broadcast networks to choose from, by 2003

TABLE 1.1

there were 283 different cable and satellite channels available, according to Screen Digest. A 2003 study done by Nielsen Media Research found that 73.9 million American households with televisions subscribed to at least a basic package of cable channels, while another 19.4 million had satellite systems. Combined, the two made up close to 90% of all viewing households.

The types of programs Americans watch has evolved over time as well. Hour-long dramas and half-hour comedies once dominated the prime time schedules of the three major networks (NBC, CBS, and ABC), but the success of Survivor and other so-called reality shows has changed the landscape of television. Some observers suggest that, like any fad, such programs will fade into the background after their novelty value has worn thin, while others believe that they will remain a permanent part of the major networks' programming.

Many television viewers enjoy watching rented digital videodisc (DVD) or videocassette copies of movies at home. A 2001 Gallup poll found that 83% of all respondents stated that they had watched a movie at home in the month preceding the poll. Among young adults aged eighteen to twenty-nine, this figure was 96%. Older adults tended to watch the fewest movies at home.

COMPUTERS IN DAILY HOME USE

Personal computing is an important leisure activity for many Americans. Accessing the Internet, using educational or entertainment software, playing music, and communicating with friends or family are all typical activities of home computer users.

Internet Use

Americans' use of the Internet has grown dramatically since the mid-1990s. In 1995 the Pew Research Center for The People & The Press found that just 14% of American adults were "online users," a number that had increased to 46% of adults by March 2000, or eighty-six million people. By mid-2004 the Pew Internet & American Life Project found that nearly 63% of American adults (128 million) had gone online.

Internet access in public schools has increased dramatically since the mid-1990s, giving school children more opportunity to go online. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, in Internet Access in U.S. Public Schools and Classrooms: 1994-2002 (2003), by 2001 99% of American public schools had gained access to the Internet, up from just 35% in 1994. The report further noted that 92% of public schools offered Internet connections in instructional rooms in 2002, up from 3% in 1994.

Americans without Internet access in their homes or at school could also go online at local public libraries. According to researchers John Carlo Bertot and Charles R. McClure in Public Libraries and the Internet 2002: Internet Connectivity and Networked Services (December 2002), by 2002 95% of all public libraries provided public access to the Internet, and 100% of urban public libraries did.

The Pew Internet & American Life Project (Pew/Internet) found that in 2004 the Internet audience was not only growing but also increasingly resembled the population as a whole. Whereas white males were once by far the most common users of the Internet, women, African-Americans, and Hispanics were using it more and more. A Pew/Internet tracking survey conducted in May and June 2004 found that almost 66% of American males and 61% of American females went online, along with 59% of English-speaking Hispanics and 43% of African-Americans. (See Table 1.2.)

The Pew Internet & American Life survey further revealed that by mid-2004, 32% of persons with less than a high school education and 52% of high school graduates were online, compared to 88% of college graduates. The costs of buying a computer and paying Internet access fees were barriers to some Americans, however. Just 44% of persons with household incomes below $30,000 used the Internet versus 69% of those with incomes from $30,000 to $50,000, 81% with incomes ranging from $50,000 to $75,000, and 89% of those in the highest income bracket. Location also affected connectivity, and rural Americans lagged behind, with only 56% going online compared to 62% of urban dwellers and 68% of those in the suburbs. (See Table 1.2.)

TABLE 1.2

Pew/Internet found significant differences among age groups in Internet use in 2004. While 78% of those eighteen to twenty-nine were online, and 74% of Americans aged thirty to forty-nine were using the Internet, the number dropped to 60% of those fifty to sixty-four and just 25% of those aged sixty-five and over. (See Table 1.2.)

In Counting on the Internet, a 2002 Pew/Internet report, researchers concluded that the popularity and reliability of the Internet as a source of information had raised Americans' expectations about the scope and availability of information online. Three-quarters of Internet users reported positive experiences in finding information about health care, government agencies, news, and shopping. Many users cited the Internet as the first place they turned to for news and information.

According to Pew/Internet surveys conducted from 2001 to 2004, nearly all persons with Internet access were sending e-mail (93%), while 84% used online search engines to find information, 84% looked for maps or driving directions, and more than three-quarters of users researched products before they bought them or went online in pursuit of information about their hobbies. Other common uses included looking for weather forecasts (75%), seeking travel information (73%), getting news (72%), looking for health or medical information (66%), or simply surfing the Web for fun (67%). Many also found the Web useful for shopping and other transactions, with 65% of Internet users buying a product online, 55% making travel reservations, 34% doing online banking, and 23% participating in an online auction. (See Table 1.3.)

In June 2004 Pew/Internet researchers estimated that 53% of American adults with Internet access, or sixty-eight million, went online on an average day. Typical daily Internet activities included sending e-mail (45%), using a search engine to find information (30%), getting news (27%), looking for information on a hobby or interest (21%), checking the weather (20%), and performing job-related research (19%). Only 2% said they downloaded music files, or went to a Web site to meet other people, while just 1% of those surveyed said their typical daily Internet activities included gambling or visiting adult Web sites. Nearly one-quarter went online for recreation—that is, to surf the Web with no specific purpose in mind. (See Table 1.4.)

accessing music online. Internet users can go online to hear music from "streaming" Internet radio stations and other Web sites, or download music files—either legally (by paying a fee to a service such as iTunes) or illegally (via a peer-to-peer network or from a newsgroup or Web site). Concerned about the impact on music recording sales, which dropped from $14.6 billion to $11.9 billion per year between 1999 and 2003 (see Table 4.9 in Chapter 4), the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) began filing lawsuits against a number of file-sharing services such as Napster, and, beginning in the fall of 2003, against individual users.

A survey conducted in November and December 2003 by Pew/Internet found that music downloads declined dramatically after the RIAA began suing specific individuals. While a survey conducted in March through May 2003 found that 29% of Internet users (thirty-five million) regularly downloaded music files, by year's end this had declined to just 14% (eighteen million). In February and March 2004, however, Pew/Internet found that the percentage of downloaders had rebounded to 18% (twenty-three million). (See Table 1.5.) Many were now using such paid services as Apple's iTunes, Musicmatch.com, or the relaunched, fee-charging Napster.

As Internet connection speeds and computer data storage capacity continued to increase, data-intensive video downloads were becoming popular as well, with 15% of Internet users reporting to Pew/Internet researchers in February and March of 2004 that they had downloaded videos from the Web. (See Table 1.5.) While some downloads, like movie trailers and commercials, were from legitimate Web sites, others were not. The Motion Picture Association of America issued a number of warnings in 2004 that copyright infringement lawsuits

TABLE 1.3

would be brought against those sharing movies via peer-to-peer networks.

Teens and College Students on the Internet

The Pew Internet & American Life Project estimated in 2003 that 78% of Americans aged twelve to seventeen were online. Of these, 92% used e-mail, 84% surfed the Web for fun, 74% used instant messaging, and 71% had used the Internet as the major source for their most recent major school project.

According to the 2002 Pew/Internet report The Internet Goes to College, college students were among the heaviest users of the Internet. This finding was not surprising since about one-fifth of the surveyed college students had begun using computers as young children. All

TABLE 1.4

college students who responded to the survey had used computers by age 16, and most were Internet users.

A study published in 2004 in the Journal of College and University Student Housing found that of 253 freshmen and sophomores living in residence halls at Ball State University, 94% had access to a computer in their living quarters, and 75% reported using computer technology more than five hours per week. Seventy percent of the students reported using a computer daily or several times per week to complete assignments or papers, and 59% reported

TABLE 1.5

using one to surf the Internet. E-mail or instant messaging was used daily by 78%, with another 17% using such communications programs several times per week.

Computer Use among Older Adults

According to Pew/Internet, persons over age sixty-five were dispelling myths about their reluctance to embrace new technology, as they surfed the Web in record numbers. In 2000 an estimated 12% of older Americans were online, but this number had grown to 20% by 2002 and to 25% in the spring of 2004.

Computers have been readily integrated into the lives of older adults in many settings, ranging from nursing homes to senior recreation centers. For older adults who are homebound as a result of illness or disability, Internet access can offer opportunities to socialize, contact friends and family, and purchase food, medications, and other necessities without leaving their homes.

SPORTS AND FITNESS ACTIVITIES ARE IMPORTANT TO MANY AMERICANS

Like tastes in food, fashion, and music, American exercise habits have undergone significant shifts. Participation in sports and other fitness activities is important to many Americans. In Sports Participation Topline Report (2004), the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association (SGMA) described facts about Americans who were frequent or occasional sports participants, along with Americans'preoccupation with fitness and trends in fitness activity (see Table 1.6):

• Participation in team sports generally decreased between 1998 and 2003.
• More people were participating in camping, hiking, and mountaineering, while hunting and fishing declined in popularity.
• Recreational activities that were considered enjoyable continued to attract enthusiasts—there were an estimated 96.4 million recreational swimmers, 88.8 million recreational walkers, and 53.7 million recreational bicyclists.
• Interest in weight-reducing and muscle-toning fitness exercises remained high—participation in the Pilates method of flexibility and strength training grew by 444.5% in three years, while use of elliptical motion trainers (which combine elements of ski machines and stair climbers) grew by 247.3% in five years.
• Extreme sports was an area of strong growth—from 1987 to 2003 participation in mountain biking jumped by 359%, while snowboarding grew by 269.5% from 1990 to 2003.

The SGMA report also concluded that Americans preferred noncompetitive sports and fitness activities that were less intense. Of the top twenty most popular sports, basketball was the only team sport named. It claimed 35.4 million participants, twice as many as football's eighteen million, soccer's 17.7 million, and softball's sixteen million.

America's Most Popular Sports

The SGMA's list of the top thirty most popular sports in America based on the number of participants for 2003 was topped by bowling, with fifty-five million. It was followed by treadmill exercise (45.6 million), freshwater fishing (43.8 million), stretching (42.1 million), tent camping (41.9 million), and billiards (40.7 million). Twelve of the top thirty were fitness-related activities. (See Table 1.7.)

Gender and Age Influence Sports and Fitness Choices

Athletically inclined American men seemed to prefer individual rather than team sports. Fourteen out of the top fifteen most popular sports for male participants were solo activities. The most popular sports activity for men in 2003 was freshwater fishing, with 9.2 million participating in it at least fifteen days during the year. Men also found fitness activities appealing, with 8.5 million of them lifting barbells a hundred or more days a year, and 7.9 million lifting dumbbells. Stretching (7.6 million),

TABLE 1.6

calisthenics (6.7 million), and fitness walking (6.6 million) followed closely behind. The highest-ranked team sport, basketball, was played by 5.6 million men at least once a week. (See Table 1.8.)

Women also chose individual fitness activities over team sports. In 2003 the most popular choices of female fitness enthusiasts included stretching (10.7 million participants), fitness walking (9.8 million), treadmill exercise

(6.2 million), lifting hand weights (4.6 million), and running or jogging (4.2 million). The preferred activity of men, fishing, ranked eleventh for women, with 3.1 million participants. (See Table 1.9.)

Popular Sports for Children and Seniors

America's love of sports and fitness was not bounded by age. The SGMA studied recreational activities that were "frequent" among youths aged six to seventeen during 2003. Active American children and teens enjoyed both team and individual sports, with their top choices being basketball (4.1 million participants), fishing (3.5 million), inline skating (3.5 million), and running/jogging (3.1 million). Stretching, calisthenics, baseball, outdoor soccer, skateboarding, and touch football rounded out the top ten most popular pursuits of younger Americans. (See Table 1.10.)

Many of America's older adults (those over age fifty-five) have embraced exercise as a strategy for enhancing health and wellness, and the 2003 SGMA survey found that seniors were frequent participants in recreational and fitness activities. Thirteen of the fifteen most popular sports and activities were fitness or outdoor pursuits, led by fitness walking (6.3 million participants), stretching (four million), treadmill exercise (3.1 million), golf (three

TABLE 1.7

million), and fishing (2.6 million). Other popular choices in the seniors' top ten included recreational vehicle camping, free weight training, bowling, weight and resistance machines, and day hiking. (See Table 1.11.)

PETS—COMPANIONSHIP, PLEASURE, AND WELL-BEING

Pets often provide more than recreation for their owners—they may become companions and family members, and most pet owners report that their pets bring pleasure to their lives. Many pet owners, wanting to extend their pets' lives and improve their health, are willing to spend large amounts on veterinary care; some purchase health insurance for their pets. Some even send their pampered pets to day camps and spas and make arrangements for the care of their pets in the event of their own illness or death.

The numbers of dog and cat owners are almost equal. According to the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association's 2003–2004 National Pet Owners Survey, there were about sixty-five million owned dogs in the United States and 77.7 million owned cats. Nearly four out of ten households (40.6 million) owned at least one dog, and a third (35.4 million) owned at least one cat. Seven out of ten dogs that were owned and eight out of ten owned cats were spayed or neutered.

Eighteen percent of owned dogs, and 16% of owned cats, were adopted from animal shelters. Sixty-five percent of owners had just one dog, while half of cat-owners had one cat and the remaining half owned two or more. The

TABLE 1.8

average number of dogs per owner was 1.6, compared to an average of 2.2 cats per owner. On average, dog owners spent more than twice what cat owners did on veterinary expenses during the twelve months preceding the survey—dog owners spent $263 while cat owners averaged $113. During 2003 the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association reported that Americans spent a total of $32.4 billion on pet food, toys, and care. For 2004, this figure was projected to rise 5.9%, to $34.3 billion, double the amount of ten years earlier. Of this, $14.3 billion would be spent on food, $8.3 billion on veterinary care, and $7.9 billion on supplies and nonprescription medicine.

Pets Contribute to Health and Wellness

Research conducted during the late 1990s found that pet ownership was related to better health. At first, it was believed that the effects were simply increased well-being—the obvious delight of hospital and nursing home patients petting puppies, watching kittens play, or viewing fish in an aquarium clearly demonstrated pets' abilities to calm frayed nerves and make people smile.

A study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (March 1999) reported that attachment to a companion animal was linked to maintaining or slightly improving the physical and psychological wellbeing of older adults. Following nearly a thousand older adults for one year, researcher Parminder Raina and her associates found that pet owners were more satisfied with their physical health, mental health, family relationships, living arrangements, finances, and friends.

The physiological mechanisms responsible for these health benefits were as yet unidentified; however, some

TABLE 1.9

researchers think that pets connect people to the natural world, enabling them to focus on others rather than simply themselves. Other investigators have observed that dog owners walk more than persons without dogs do and credit pet owners' improved health to exercise. Nearly everyone agrees that the nonjudgmental affection pets offer boosts health and wellness.

Other research has revealed some specific health benefits of human interaction with animals. Several researchers have observed that petting dogs and cats lowers blood pressure. Preliminary results of a study presented in 2004 by Rebecca Johnson, of the University of Missouri—Columbia Center for the Study of Animal Wellness, showed that after human subjects petted a dog, they experienced a massive release of beneficial hormones, including serotonin, beta endorphin, prolactin, dopamine, oxytocin, and beta phenylethalamine. A similar release was also observed in the dog.

HOBBIES

A hobby is an activity or pastime that is performed primarily for pleasure rather than for business. Hobbies were once the mainstay of leisure time. While this sort of activity still exists, industry observers believe it is less popular, seeming to have been surpassed by collecting, a profit-motivated activity.

Some of the most common hobbies are cross-stitching/embroidering, crocheting, quilting, knitting, cake decorating, model train collecting, wreath making, art/drawing, photography, gardening, studying genealogy, floral arranging, woodworking, and solving crossword puzzles. Children and teens often enjoy playing board games; drawing,

TABLE 1.10

painting and sculpting; playing musical instruments; and card collecting.

The Hobby Industry Association (HIA), an industry trade group, in the 2002 Nationwide Craft and Hobby Consumer Usage and Purchases Study, found that 77% of surveyed households reported that at least one member engaged in a craft or hobby, a slight increase from 76% in 2001. Craft and hobby participants were often married, had children, were better educated, and had higher household incomes than noncrafters.

In 2002 the HIA reported that the U.S. craft and hobby industry accounted for $29 billion in sales, which was broken down into four categories: general crafts (43%), needlecrafts (29%), painting and finishing (18%), and floral crafts (10%). Crafters primarily created their projects for friends or household use. A majority made crafts to give as gifts (79%), or for themselves (69%), and for home decorating (61%), while many also made crafts for holiday decorating (43%). Only 15% made crafts to sell. So-called "heavy crafters," who accounted for 25% of total participants, spent an average of $1,552 on crafts and hobbies during 2002 and accounted for 77% of total dollar sales for the industry.

Collecting as Recreation

Collectors devote time, energy, and often considerable financial resources to amassing, compiling, and organizing their collections. Along with more common pursuits, such as stamp, coin, and sports card collecting, there are individuals and groups devoted to collecting

TABLE 1.11

everything imaginable, from antique automobiles, celebrity autographs, and memorabilia from events such as the 1939 World's Fair, to toys, action figures, and favors distributed with children's meals at fast-food restaurants.

Unity Marketing's Collectibles Industry Report 2002 found that 40% of U.S. households were involved with collectibles and characterized the typical collector as someone who was "younger, smarter, more affluent and shop[ped] in a much wider range of retail venues than yesterday's collector." While collectors had traditionally been female, men were now emerging as collectors, attracted by online auction sites such as eBay.

VOLUNTEER WORK

Many Americans spend their leisure time in volunteer work helping others. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) survey Volunteering in the United States 2003 found that 63.8 million people did volunteer work of some type between September 2002 and September 2003, up from 59.8 million a year earlier. During the same period the rate of Americans volunteering rose from 27.4% of those age sixteen or older to 28.8%. The median number of hours a volunteer gave during the year was fifty-two. (See Table 1.12.)

Who Volunteers?

The BLS survey found that women were more likely to volunteer, with 32.2% of females over sixteen giving their time compared with 25.1% of men. Americans between the ages of thirty-five and forty-four volunteered the most, at 34.7%, followed by forty-five- to fifty-four- year-olds at 32.7%. Those ages sixty-five and older were least likely to volunteer, at 23.7%, but senior citizens who

TABLE 1.12

did participate gave more of their time, putting in a median number of eighty-eight hours in 2003.

Among ethnic groups in 2003, volunteer work was performed by 30.6% of whites, 20% of African-Americans, 18.7% of Asians, and 15.7% of Hispanic Americans. Educational attainment was a significant predictor of volunteer status, with 45.6% of college graduates participating, as compared to 9.9% of those who did not graduate from high school. Job status was also important, with 31.2% of employees giving of their time contrasted with 26.7% of those unemployed. The largest percentage of volunteers came from those working part-time, at 38.4%.

The BLS found that the leading reason volunteers became involved in 2003 was that they had been asked (43.6%), while slightly more than two-fifths (40.7%) approached the organization themselves. These figures held relatively constant between men and women and among the various economic and ethnic groups, although Asians were more likely to approach an organization about joining (48.2%) and less likely to have joined because they were asked (38.7%). (See Table 1.13.) When volunteers stopped participating, the reasons they cited most were lack of time (44.7%), health or medical problems (14.7%), and family responsibilities or childcare problems (9.5%).

What Do Volunteers Do?

The BLS found that the most popular ways volunteers gave their time was working with religious groups

TABLE 1.13

TABLE 1.14

(34.6%), educational or youth service organizations (27.4%), social or community service agencies (11.8%), and hospital or health organizations (8.2%). Fewer were involved with civic, political, professional, or international groups (6.4%); sport, hobby, cultural, or arts organizations (4.1%); environmental or animal care groups (1.7%); and public safety agencies (1.2%). (See Table 1.14.)

The BLS survey found that the most frequent activities performed by volunteers included fund-raising, done at some time by 28.8% of the total; coaching, refereeing, tutoring or teaching (28.6%); collecting, preparing distributing, or serving food (24.9%); providing information, ushering, greeting, or ministering (22%); or engaging in general labor (21.8%). (See Table 1.15.)

TABLE 1.15