Nielsen: Reading Is A Top Spare-Time Activity

How we unwind says a lot about what we value. With a wide array of pastimes available, respondents in a recent Nielsen global survey were asked to select their top three spare-time activities. While certain activities skew younger than older and vice versa, if you think technology-driven younger people don’t read anymore, think again.

In this third of a five-part series about the differences between how generations live, eat, work and save, Nielsen take  focus on how consumers play.

While TV has universal appeal as a favorite spare-time activity among all generations, it turns out that more respondents in Generation Z (ages 15-20) selected reading (27%) as a favorite activity than tuning into their favorite TV programs (23%). In fact, more Gen Z respondents picked reading than reviewing social media (17%) or playing video and online games (17% and 16%, respectively).

Nielsen: Top 5 Activities By Generation

Other activities, however, have particular younger or older age skews.

Other findings from the Nielsen Global Generational Lifestyles Report include:

• The majority of older respondents turn to TV to get the news, but the medium still holds sway for nearly half of Millennial (48%) and Generation Z (45%) respondents.
• Older respondents show higher levels of being distracted by technology at mealtime than younger generations.
• Millennials are roughly two times more likely than Generation X to leave their current job after two years.
• More than half of Generation Z and Millennial respondents (52% and 54%, respectively) want to live in a big city or urban neighborhood. 
• Approximately half of younger respondents say they save money each month, but they aren’t confident in their financial futures.