The line graphs illustrate the proportion of activities, expressed as percentages, that elderly people in the United States enjoyed in their free time between 1980 and 2010. Overall, it is evident from the graphs that there were corresponding increases and decreases in all five activities over a thirty-year period.
In detail, the proportion of television viewing far exceeded those of the other activities in the 1980s, at 60%. Over the next twenty years, it steadily grew to 70%, then finished at around 65% in the 2010s. The figure for going to the theater stood at 50% in the 1980s. Although it fell moderately in the following ten years, the popularity of going to the theatre climbed steadily to end at about 45% in the 2010s. Interestingly, the pattern for hiking started at only 20%, increasing sharply in the next thirty years to account for the most popular activity in the 2010s, at a peak of 80%.
In comparison, the trend for reading as one of the hobbies depicted a dramatic fluctuation, remaining between 20% and 40% from the 1980s to the 2000s. However, it climbed rapidly to constitute 60% in the 2010s. Surfing the internet represented the smallest proportion among the other four hobbies, standing at only 5%, growing moderately in the following twenty years, then going up quickly to account for 50% in the 2010s.
It can be understood that watching television was the most enjoyed activity by the elder people in their free time over the time frame despite the decline in the final period. In the 2010s, hiking became the top activity for the elder people to spend their free time, followed by reading and surfing the internet. It can be noted that the most dramatic change was expressed by the popularity of hiking over the period. However, the trend for going to the theatre was fairly stagnant over a thirty-year period.