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How much time do people spend watching TV?

In the 2013–17 period, the U.S. civilian noninstitutional population ages 15 and older spent an average of 2 hours 46 minutes per day watching TV. This amounted to more than half (55.2 percent) of the total time per day they spent in leisure and sports activities. As defined in the ATUS, “watching TV” refers to any time people said their main activity involved watching TV, videos, or movies. This includes the time they spent watching live programming, viewing DVDs, and streaming shows on their TV sets, computers, and portable devices. It does not include time spent viewing movies at a theater.

There was some variation within the population in the time people watched TV, as shown in chart 1. Older people and people who were not employed spent the most time watching TV. Those ages 55 to 64 averaged 3 hours 14 minutes of TV time per day, and those ages 65 and older averaged an hour more (4 hours 14 minutes) per day. People who were not employed, which includes people of all ages who did not work for pay, watched TV for an average of 3 hours 49 minutes per day. The majority (80.2 percent) of people ages 65 and older were not employed; this group watched TV for an average of 4 and a half hours per day.