The chart is showing the numbers of boys and girls in Australia who take part in five different leisure activities. Overall, we can say that boys’ participation in these activities was greater than that of girls.
It is immediately clear that the most popular leisure time activity among this age group is watching television. Almost all children in Australia are spending their free time in this way and this is true for both boys and girls. However, in three of the four remaining activities, boys’ participation was significantly greater than that of girls.
The next most popular activity is playing computer games. Four out of five boys enjoy these games, compared to almost three in four girls. Bike riding follows computer games in terms of popularity. Just under three-quarters of boys say they like cycling compared to approximately a fifth of all girls. The only activity which has become more popular with girls than with boys is art and craft. Just over 50 per cent of girls enjoy this pastime compared to only about a quarter of boys.
The figures are seeming to suggest that the stereotypical image of boys being more active and girls more artistic or creative still holds some truth in Australian society