
Average American Has Just 4 Hours, 26 Minutes of Free Time per Week - spking
https://www.studyfinds.org/survey-average-american-free-time-week/
======
rococode
Anyone else think at least part of this survey feels off? Specifically, the
big red flag to me is:

> Researchers also put together a list of the top ten things Americans plan to
> buy with their tax refunds.

> 1\. Motorcycle tires

> 2\. Playstation 4

> 3\. Trip to casino

> 4\. Niagara Falls trip

> 5\. A party

Intuitively I find it hard to believe the number one thing Americans want
is... motorcycle tires. Or a Playstation 4. Or a casino trip. Or a trip to
Niagara Falls. A party, maybe.

I really don't buy the "4 hour 26 minute" narrative either. I know plenty of
super busy people and everyone has far more than 4 hours of free time. They're
really saying that the _average_ person has barely more than 30 minutes of
free time a day, including weekends?

I'm inclined to believe that this article is either inaccurately reporting the
actual results or the study was poorly done.

~~~
rightbyte
Car tires should be far more common than MC tires, atleast.

Niagara Falls? It's seems really specific. "Freedom from credit card
companies" nr.7 seems like a one off comment.

I would guess they messed up the list generation if they have actual data at
all.

The number 4,5h seems bogus too. I can't find any source of the study so I
assume it's bogus SEO click-bait spam to increase the rank of H&R.

Searching for the quotes reveal some spammy articles with convenient url-links
to H&R.

~~~
tzs
> Car tires should be far more common than MC tires, atleast.

Remember, though, it was a purported list of what people buy with their tax
refunds. A lot of people treat their tax refund as a windfall to spend on
something fun rather than on something necessary.

I'd expect that for most people, if their car needs new tires they fall under
the "necessary" category and they get them soon after realizing they need
them. A motorcycle is often for recreational use, and new tires might fall
into the "for fun" category, to be put off until some extra money is
available.

------
nabla9
It's hard to believe this for the following reasons.

> A new survey finds that the average American adult logs just four hours and
> 26 minutes of time to themselves in a given week.

So this includes retired people?

> According to a Nielsen report, United States adults are watching five hours
> and four minutes of television per day on average (35.5 h/week) (2016
> statistics)

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_consumption](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_consumption)

> Time Flies: U.S. Adults Now Spend Nearly Half a Day Interacting with Media

[https://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/news/2018/time-
flies-...](https://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/news/2018/time-flies-us-
adults-now-spend-nearly-half-a-day-interacting-with-media.print.html)

~~~
jfoutz
I don't doubt people have the tv on for 5 hours a day. I do doubt that people
are intently watching every minute. Making dinner, washing dishes, straitening
up, and folding laundry are all sort of obvious things people do while the tv
is on.

Heck, that second reference included 'game console' which, i think, is the
only one listed that really requires full engagement. that's 14 minutes a day.

the 2.5 hours on a web/app on a smartphone is an interesting one. Does
listening to spotify at work count? that would definitely pump those numbers a
lot.

------
seizethecheese
This doesn’t pass the smell test. I’m pretty sure most Americans spend hours
per day watching TV, on social media or playing video games.

------
deevolution
If you're like me and you constantly procrastinate, then you have 20+hours of
free time every week!

~~~
adamnemecek
Procrastination is a symptom of being overwhelmed.

------
beatgammit
That sounds like BS. I have two kids and I can usually eek out an hour every
day, sometimes two. So that puts me at 7 hours minimum, but I can usually make
10-20 happen. My kids wake up around 7 and go to sleep around 8. If we assume
8 hours of sleep, that leaves me with 3 hours unaccounted for every day.

Perhaps they're counting chores as "not free time", but most of those can be
done while doing other things. For example, clean dishes while waiting for a
pot to boil, or clean the toilet after or before taking a shower. I've done
these types of things to free up time after my kids go to bed. If they're safe
enough for me to get the restroom, they're probably safe enough for me to
clean something.

I wonder how much time we'd end up with if we included time on a smartphone
not doing productive tasks. It seems people spend time on their phone when
they have a few minutes instead of doing chores, and then do those chores
during their "free time". If you want more free time, find ways to squishing
more into your non-free time.

------
rujuladanh
I always aim for 4 free hours per DAY.

If this is true, I really don't understand how people can live in the USA.

Go to Canada, Europe or something!

~~~
maxsilver
Do you have children? If you have children, you can easily wind up with
negative free hours per day.

If you averaged say, 4 parents and 4 non-parents free time, I could see how
someone would easily arrive at a number where the "average American has just 4
hours of free time per week"

~~~
rujuladanh
Yes, I do. One, and she is old enough now. Even when she was little, I had
free time.

If you do not have enough free time for your child, maybe you should consider
not having them. The same way you would if you did not have the finances right
or anything else that may affect them...

------
hammock
How on Earth does this have 60 votes? It's a content marketing piece for H&R
Block based on a throwaway online survey that probably had ten people in it.
Are HN readers just upvoting because they want validation?

~~~
rightbyte
I read the article because I thought "this can't be right, right?", and sure
enough, it seems like SEO click-bait.

Their marketing will now be able to show a spike in traffic because of me
searching for their stupid product and can report marketing success to their
boss even tough I would never though the company again.

I fell a bit dirty ...

------
gus_massa
> _A new survey finds that the average American adult logs just four hours and
> 26 minutes of time to themselves in a given week._

> _And if that amount seems high, you’re also in good company. Four out of 10
> people surveyed said they get even less free time than that total,
> incredibly._

Since the median and the average are usually [citation needed] not far away,
this is not surprising at all.

------
didibus
I can definitely relate. I think all the administrative things are what annoys
me most. Such as sifting through mail, bills, taxes, figuring out procedures
to apply for things, etc.

Because it all feels so disconnected to real impact and result. Like all
administrative work feels imaginary. Like we created the problem for ourself.

Yet, I don't know how to automate it, or get rid of it.

------
stuaxo
This is why I wouldn't go to America, the work life balance is non existent.

~~~
leesec
It's really company dependent. I love my work life balance.

------
_bxg1
I'd be curious to see how these numbers change with and without kids.

------
caymanjim
And people wonder why I quit my job to go on walkabout every few years.

~~~
lenova
Love the idea of this... Any details you can provide about your trips? Where,
how long, etc?

~~~
caymanjim
I try to take at least a two-week vacation every year, to travel somewhere
new. Every 2-4 years, I quit my job and move somewhere. So far I've lived in
four US states and the Cayman Islands for a few years each.

In between about every other job, I'll take an extended trip. I did six months
around Southeast Asia. I've done extended around-the-US travel. A couple
months in Belize/Guatemala. Currently in the middle of three months in
Cayman/Honduras.

If you've got no mortgage, no debt, no kids, it's easy to do at any income
level. I've made these choices. It's not a tradeoff that many people want to
make, but it's available to most people should they choose it (I realize kids
aren't always planned).

Most of my trips are low-to-medium budget. SE Asia and Central America can be
done for $20-50/day. Cayman is expensive, but I used to live here, so I've got
free housing and loaner cars from friends (yet it's still costing me close to
$100/day). The US can be dirt cheap if you don't mind car/tent camping.

------
p1esk
I wonder if an average American works more or less than 4 hours per week (
_actual work_ , assuming 40 hours work week)?

