{"id":19213,"date":"2024-07-01T15:03:50","date_gmt":"2024-07-01T19:03:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/?p=19213"},"modified":"2024-07-01T15:03:50","modified_gmt":"2024-07-01T19:03:50","slug":"the-way-we-play","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/the-way-we-play\/","title":{"rendered":"The Way We Play"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

While much has changed over the last half century, at least one thing hasn\u2019t: we still enjoy a little downtime, a chance to escape the hustle and bustle of our everyday lives. But the ways in which we choose to unwind have evolved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recently, the Monmouth University Polling Institute asked Americans about their favorite hobbies, comparing the data with Gallup and Roper polls conducted in 1974 using the same questions. The TL\/DR version: Americans still love to cook and want to see more of the world than ever before, but fewer of us likely know how to mend a torn seam. Here\u2019s a fuller look at how our extracurricular pursuits have evolved with time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"An<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Cooking Reigns Supreme<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then, as now, cooking is Americans\u2019 No. 1 hobby<\/strong>. But perhaps inspired by the rise of food culture, the countless cooking shows on TV, and the abundance of social media chefs, more of us than ever are donning aprons for fun: 68% in 2024, up from 37% in 1974<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"An<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Crafting is No Longer Niche <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like travel, the percentage of Americans who report craft-making as a hobby has more than doubled <\/strong>in the last half century, from 21% in 1974 to 46% today<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"An<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Traveling Has Taken Off <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back in 1974, fewer than one-third (29%) of Americans reported traveling as a hobby. Today, that percentage has more than doubled to 61%, making it Americans\u2019 No. 2 favorite hobby<\/strong>. Our dream destinations have changed with time too, suggesting a growing interest in exploring diverse cultural experiences beyond Europe (see sidebar, below)<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"An<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Arts Ascend <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While participation in classic pastimes such as camping, swimming, hunting, and golf remained relatively steady over the last 50 years, Americans are increasingly engaging in creative pursuits. The number of people reporting photography as a hobby jumped from 10% to 30%<\/strong>, while painting, sketching, and drawing skyrocketed from 9% to 29%<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"An<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

So Long, Sewing <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nearly every hobby mentioned in the poll saw increased participation, but not everything trended upward. Gardening, which tied for the No. 1 spot in 1974, dropped to No. 3 this year despite a 10-percentage-point increase in people reporting it as a hobby. Meanwhile, sewing was the only hobby that saw a decrease, dropping from 25% in 1974 to 19% today<\/strong>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u00bb Compiled<\/strong> by Breanne McCarthy and Tony Marchetti from Monmouth University Poll Data<\/a><\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A then-and-now look at Americans\u2019 favorite pastimes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":19220,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"image_focus":"","hide_title":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19213","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-currents"],"thumbnail":"\"\"","catString":"Currents","issue":"Spring\/Summer 2024","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19213","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/57"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19213"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19213\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19690,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19213\/revisions\/19690"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19220"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19213"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19213"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19213"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}