The bar chart illustrates the proportion of Australian children from three age groups who participated in four different activities in 2012. The activities include watching TV, reading, art, and riding a bike, while the age groups are 5-8 years old, 9-11 years old, and 12-16 years old.
Overall, watching TV was the most popular activity across all age groups, whereas art was the least favored. Additionally, participation in certain activities, such as riding a bike, varied significantly with age.
In detail, nearly all children in every age group watched TV, with the highest percentage (around 98%) among 5-8-year-olds. This figure slightly decreased to approximately 96% for 9-11-year-olds and 92% for the oldest group (12-16 years old). Reading was the second most common activity, with participation rates declining as children grew older. Around 60% of the youngest children read, compared to just under 50% of the oldest group.
Art activities were less popular, with only about 30% of 5-8-year-olds participating, dropping to 20% for 9-11-year-olds and 10% for 12-16-year-olds. In contrast, riding a bike showed an inverse trend. While only 40% of the youngest children rode bikes, this figure rose to 60% for the middle group and peaked at nearly 70% for the oldest children.
In conclusion, while TV viewership was consistently high across all ages, preferences for other activities varied with age, particularly for bike riding and art.