Over the years, the activities that America’s population love have changed an incredible amount. The pastimes that are available to people change with the times, and now in the age of the internet, we have even more decisions to make about how we want to spend our leisure time.
In this guide, we’re running through five of Americans’ favorite pastimes. Of course, they are all up for debate! There might be things on this list that you can’t imagine ever enjoying, and that’s fine – the point is that these are five of the most popular ways in which Americans spend their spare hours.
Sports
Whether it is checking out the latest NFL predictions and being ready to place bets on the weekend’s sport, playing fantasy football with your friends, playing in person or just watching the game on television, sports are incredibly popular in the US.
All over the country, there are regularly tens of thousands of people in ballparks watching games or checking out the latest NFL games in bars, talking about which team to bet on or who is going to do well in the coming season.
Playing sports is also extremely popular, and kids especially spend a lot of time playing with their friends. Popular sports include football, baseball and basketball. As you will already know, the USA is a huge and varied place, so what is the most popular sport in one state will vary in others.
TV and movies
We’ve lumped this into one big category. They call it entertainment for a reason. Americans, as much as any other nation, love to watch television. While some people see this as a negative, there is really no reason to.
Statista published a study that claims Americans watch, on average, three hours of television per day.
TV is incredibly rich and varied, and in the age of Netflix and other streaming services, people can choose exactly what they want to watch. Thrilling dramas and enriching documentaries can be a great way to pass the time, and people can even learn while they watch. The television may have an unfair reputation as being bad for people, but it certainly won’t make your eyes go square.
Vacations
Americans love vacationing when they get the chance. The US is an amazing place to take trips, as the size of the country means you can experience so much variety without ever having to go abroad or even get a passport. Whether you want to go to a mountain cabin or on a beach trip, the age of the American road trip is still alive and well.
Did you know that in 2019, Americans took over two billion domestic trips for leisure purposes? Vacationing is one of the ways in which people enrich their lives and unwind when they aren’t working.
Food and drink
Okay, so who doesn’t count this as one of the ways in which they pass the time? Food and drink are not just something we need to survive, though, and in some countries, form part of the culture. This is definitely the case in America.
While the US has adopted a lot of its cuisine traditions from other countries, that doesn’t make it any less fulfilling. Go to any big city in the US and it is likely you can get Italian food, Mexican food and of course, some of the American classics. In the Southern states, BBQing is particularly popular and there are some of the world’s most popular food chains operating all over the US.
One of the things people are most excited for when they go to the US is often the food and drink options that will be available to them.
Gaming
Gamers make up a huge percentage of the population. Even those who claim not to be, probably are gamers, whether they know it or not.
Does your mom have a game like Words With Friends or Wordle on her phone? Yes, she’s a gamer. It doesn’t have to mean hours of sitting in front of a games console – many of us use our phones to play puzzle games and other types of games, and that means that this is one of the most famous and popular pastimes in the whole country.
The gaming industry itself is thriving in the States and is worth billions to the economy, every single year. A lot of the world’s biggest releases are made in the country, which is also home to the biggest gaming companies and famous brands such as Xbox and PlayStation.
