Solitary pursuits - The Big Picture - percentages of men and women who do various leisure activities alone

American Demographics, July, 1998

Solitary Pursuits

Americans are sociable creatures, but most sometimes find themselves on their own. Three-fourths of adults say they often or occasionally spend leisure time by themselves.

The most popular solitary leisure pursuits involve media. Four in ten adults often read newspapers when on their own. A little more than one-third frequently read books and magazines, watch TV, and listen to music. Women are somewhat more likely than men to read books and magazines and listen to music, and the tendency to read newspapers and watch TV rises with age.

All that watching, reading, and listening seems to make people sleepy. Nearly three in ten adults say they often nap while on their own. Despite stereotypes of men crashing in recliners during the big game, women are more likely than men to say they frequently catch a few winks in their solo free time, at 32 percent compared with 26 percent. Nodding off is also popular among those aged 60 and older-38 percent often spend lone leisure time this way, versus 26 percent of those aged 18 to 29.

Women also choose to spend time in the kitchen when no one's around. Half say they often spend free solo time cooking. And more than one in four men (27 percent) often works on home-improvement projects alone.

People rarely venture out in public for unaccompanied leisure. Shopping is the only exception: 24 percent of women and 11 percent of men spend leisure time browsing in stores. Just 5 percent frequently eat out in restaurants, and only 3 percent often go to movies or take weekend trips by themselves. -the editors of Roper Reports