Recreation and the Use of Free Time - Teenagers, Leisure Time, And Volunteerism

While the free time activities of young children can be in large part determined by their parents' schedules, teenagers tend to have more genuinely free time. What do they do with it? Teenagers fill their leisure hours with a variety of activities, some of which are not always agreeable to adults. Some parents claim teens watch too much television; most experts believe teens do not get enough physical exercise; teachers complain their students spend too little time on schoolwork or reading. This unfavorable picture, however, is not entirely accurate.

Volunteerism

Many young people spend a substantial amount of time in a wide variety of volunteer and community service activities, ranging from cooking holiday dinners for homeless people or visiting nursing homes to serving as mentors for children or volunteering at the local animal shelter. According to the U.S. Census Bureau in its Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2003, in 1999, the most recent data available, slightly more than fourteen million youngsters (52%) in grades six through twelve performed community service, up from 12.6 million (49%) in 1996. (See Table 9.4.) About 48% of students in grades six through eight, 50% of students in grades nine and ten, and 61% of students in grades eleven and twelve performed community service in 1999. Female students (57%) were more likely than male students (48%) to be engaged in community service. White students (56%) were more likely than African-American (48%) or Hispanic (38%) students to volunteer. The higher the students' parents' level of education, the more likely the student was to participate in community service activities.

During his first term President George W. Bush placed an emphasis on volunteerism. In his 2002 State of the Union address he called on Americans of all ages to pledge at least two years during their lives, or four thousand hours, to volunteer work. Toward this effort, the White House launched the Freedom Corps on January 30, 2002, to foster a culture of service, citizenship, and responsibility. In 2002 more than 130,000 schools received copies of the Students in Service to America guidebook. Programs for youth volunteerism described in the USA Freedom Corps 2003 Annual Report (January 2004) included Learn and Serve America, designed to provide grants to educational programs linking classroom instruction with community service. In 2003 more than one million students volunteered in community service projects.

Extracurricular Activities

The extracurricular activities engaged in by children and teens vary by age and gender. Adolescents are more likely than younger children to participate in sports (37.2% of twelve- to seventeen-year-olds compared with 30.6% of six- to eleven-year-olds). (See Table 9.5.) Both adolescents and younger children were equally likely to participate in clubs (34.4% and 33.8%, respectively). Younger children (32%) were more likely to take lessons (music, dance, language, computers, and religion, for

TABLE 9.4

Community service participation of students in grades 6–12, 1996 and 1999
(12,627 represents 12,627,000)
	Students participating in community service (1,000)		Percent of students participating in community service
Characteristic	1996	1999	1996	1999
*Includes students with no grade reported.
SOURCE: Adapted from "No. 586. Community Service Participation of Students in Grades 6 through 12: 1996 and 1999," in Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2003, U.S. Census Bureau, http://www.census.gov/prod/2004pubs/03statab/socinsur.pdf (accessed September 16, 2004)
Total*	12,627	14,010	49	52
Student's grade:
Grades 6 through 8	5,462	5,573	47	48
Grades 9 and 10	3,370	3,984	45	50
Grades 11 and 12	3,795	4,448	56	61
Sex:
Male	5,971	6,490	45	48
Female	6,656	7,520	53	57
Race/ethnicity:
White, non-Hispanic	9,113	9,933	53	56
Black, non-Hispanic	1,761	1,972	43	48
Hispanic	1,246	1,323	38	38
Other race-ethnicity	506	781	50	54
Parent's highest level of education:
Less than high school	834	935	34	37
High school graduate or equivalent	3,273	3,298	42	46
Voc/tech education after high school or some college	3,617	4,000	48	50
College graduate	2,250	2,648	58	62
Graduate or professional school	2,653	3,129	64	64

example) than were older children (26.2%). Boys of both age groups were more likely to participate in sports than were girls; girls were more likely to join clubs and take lessons. White children, children with parents who were highly educated, and children whose family incomes were above the poverty line were all more likely than other children to take part in extracurricular activities.

Teens' Favorite Leisure Activities

Teens engage in a wide variety of leisure activities. Teenage Research Unlimited (TRU), a marketing research firm based in Northbrook, Illinois, polled more than two thousand teens in 2000 to find out what motivated them. The number-one answer, given by 50% of respondents, was, "We're about fun." The 2000 TRU Teenage Marketing and Lifestyle Study listed leisure activities to determine how many teens participated and how many hours a week the teens spent participating in each activity. The number-one leisure activity was watching TV, with 98% of respondents indicating they participated, spending an average of 11.2 hours a week watching. Other leisure activities chosen by at least three-quarters of respondents were:

TABLE 9.5

Extracurricular activities of school-age children, by selected characteristics, 1994–2000
(Numbers in thousands)
			Percent participating in specified extracurricular activity
	Number of children		Sports		Clubs		Lessons
Characteristic	6 to 11 years	12 to 17 years	6 to 11 years	12 to 17 years	6 to 11 years	12 to 17 years	6 to 11 years	12 to 17 years
1Married includes married, spouse present and married, spouse absent (excluding separated).
2For families with incomes reported.
3Number of children varied by activity depending on those reporting valid answers and were approximately 19.4 million 6- to 11-year-olds and 17.6 million.
SOURCE: Terry A. Lugaila, "Table 6. Extracurricular Activities of School Age Children by Selected Characteristics: 1994 to 2000," in A Child's Day: 2000 (Selected Indicators of Child Well-Being), Current Population Reports, P70–89, U.S. Census Bureau, August 2003, http://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/p70-89.pdf (accessed September 16, 2004)
Total children, 2000	24,581	23,697	30.6	37.2	33.8	34.4	32.0	26.2
Sex of child
Female	11,998	11,526	24.4	32.5	36.0	37.5	36.8	30.2
Male	12,583	12,171	36.5	41.6	31.8	31.4	27.5	22.3
Race and ethnicity of child
White	19,340	18,678	33.4	39.2	35.7	36.4	33.5	27.5
Non-Hispanic	15,080	15,301	36.7	41.7	39.9	39.4	37.1	29.1
Black	4,061	3,745	20.6	30.5	27.6	25.0	25.4	19.4
Asian and Pacific Islander	846	834	20.4	25.7	27.1	31.5	36.0	33.1
Hispanic (of any race)	4,520	3,683	21.5	28.0	20.2	22.9	20.7	20.3
Marital status of parent
Married1	17,858	16,787	34.7	40.2	37.2	37.9	36.1	29.3
Separated, divorced, widowed	4,047	5,431	25.1	30.3	26.7	27.7	22.5	19.8
Never married	2,676	1,480	18.6	28.3	22.1	19.1	20.0	14.2
Parent's educational level
High school or less	11,990	11,665	23.5	29.6	24.9	26.2	21.5	19.6
Some college	4,385	4,110	31.1	40.1	36.0	37.6	35.1	28.6
Vocational or associate degree	3,236	3,420	35.1	39.8	40.9	39.6	37.6	29.1
Bachelor's degree	3,784	3,063	42.9	49.3	47.9	46.7	50.0	37.7
Advanced degree	1,186	1,440	48.9	58.4	52.8	52.6	54.6	41.2
Poverty status2
Below poverty level	4,379	3,476	15.9	24.9	22.8	23.2	18.6	17.9
On or above poverty level	19,663	19,861	34.3	39.6	36.6	36.6	35.3	27.9
100 to 199 percent of poverty	5,956	5,353	24.1	30.7	27.2	29.5	23.7	20.8
200 percent of poverty or higher	13,707	14,508	38.7	42.9	40.7	39.2	40.3	30.5
Total children, 1998	24,095	23,345	31.7	39.4	34.4	35.3	30.8	26.9
Total children, 19943	19,426	17,665	34.3	42.2	38.8	42.5	23.7	19.1

• Listening to FM radio (10.1 hours/week)
• Listening to CDs or tapes (9.5 hours/week)
• Hanging out with friends (8.6 hours/week)
• Talking on the phone (local calls) (6.2 hours/week)
• Exercising/working out (5.1 hours/week)
• Doing chores/running errands (4.3 hours/week)
• Reading magazines for pleasure (2.8 hours/week)
• Reading newspapers (2.5 hours/week)