The bar chart compares the percentages of three age groups (5-8s, 9-11 and 12-16s) in terms of their participation in 4 leisure activities – watching TV, reading, art and riding a bike – in 2012.
Overall, TV watching was by far the most common free time activity across all the age demographics, while the least participation was seen in art. In addition, the difference between participation levels of the age groups was more pronounced in art and riding a bike.
Looking more closely, nearly 100% of 12-16s watched TV in their free time – a figure higher than that of 9-11s (around 95%) and that of 5-8s (a little above 90%). In contrast, the proportion of both the oldest age group and those in 9-11 who read in their spare time was about 70%, whereas the figure for children from 5 to 8 made up 63%.
As for the other two activities, the difference between the participation levels was more noticeable. Regarding art, there was around a 5% difference in the percentages of children participating, with the youngest age group exhibiting the highest percentage (60%) and the oldest showing the lowest (approximately 50%). The proportion of those in the 12-16 age group who rode a bike constituted slightly over 80%, as opposed to those aged 5-8 and 9-11, accounting for around 77% and 63%, respectively.