Busy Teenagers

American Demographics, July, 1998 by Catherine McGrath

What do teenagers do after school? From their responses to a 1997 Gallup Youth Survey, they apparently do many things at the end of the school day. The most popular after-school activity of 13-to-17-year-olds is spending time with friends, according to the survey. Eighty-five percent say they hang out with friends. Another 76 percent watch television at home. For organized activities, 64 percent play an organized sport, 43 percent work for someone other than a parent, 37 percent work with their parents, and 36 percent take music, dance, drama, or art lessons.

At the same time, 83 percent of teenagers say they usually do their homework. Thirty percent say that after-school activities "almost always" get in the way of homework, with average and below-average students most likely to report the problem.

Teenagers also name a variety of activities that occurred "the last time" they ate dinner together with their parents, and some of them must occur simultaneously. Many report dinner conversations dominated by school and family issues, according to another Gallup Youth Survey. Two-thirds of the teenagers surveyed say they talk about school, and 53 percent talk about family matters. Fifty-six percent say a prayer before dinner, with 90 percent of black teenagers reporting that their households say grace.

Half of the teens also say that their families watch television while eating dinner, up from 39 percent in 1990. Minority teenagers and teenagers with parents who did not go to college log even higher numbers, at 61 percent and 66 percent, respectively. Twenty-four percent of teenagers say they listen to the radio, and a mere 15 percent read a book, magazine, or newspaper.

Teenagers also help prepare dinner and clean up afterward, with 62 percent involved in the preparation and 65 percent in dishwashing. Girls are more likely than boys to help out.

For more information about the Gallup Youth Surveys of teenagers aged 13 to 17, contact the George H. Gallup International Institute at P.O. Box 140, 47 Hulfish Street, Princeton, NJ 08542; telephone (609) 921-6200; Internet http://www.gallup.com.