The line graph depicts the proportion of five leisure activities – reading, hiking, theatre, watching TV, and surfing the internet – of the elderly in the United States between 1980 and 2010.
Overall, watching TV was initially the most favoured activity among these people, while surfing the internet recorded the least share. However, the trends had shifted, with hiking showing the highest proportion and theatre registering the lowest percentage by the final year. With the exception of theatre, the other four activities generally demonstrated an upward trend, with hiking and surfing the internet presenting the most substantial growth.
In 1980, 60% of the elderly in the US preferred to watch TV, followed by theatre, at 50%. The figure for watching TV increased slowly to 70% in 2000 before falling marginally to 65% by 2010. In contrast, theatre fell sharply to 30% in 1990, and thereafter it recovered, growing steadily to 45% by 2010.
In comparison, reading saw fluctuations over the years. After an initial rise from 30% in 1980 to 40% in 1990, it hit a low of 20% 2000, and then soared, reaching 60% by the final year. Concurrently, hiking rocketed from 20% to 80% over four decades, becoming the most popular activity. Likewise, surfing the internet, which began at just 5% in 1980, climbed slowly to 15% in 2000 before surging dramatically to 50% by 2010.