The BAT Foundation for Future Studies is presenting its "Leisure Time Monitor 2019" today, 12 September 2019. For the study, which has been conducted regularly since 1986, over 2,200 people aged 14 and over were surveyed on a representative basis (face-to-face) about their leisure behaviour and the special topic of "satisfaction in leisure time".

Core results:

• The top 3 leisure activities: Watching TV, listening to the radio, making phone calls
• Media continues to gain ground
• Special topic "Satisfaction in leisure time": retirees are the happiest

The mediatisation of leisure time continues unabated. Television remains the leading medium for German citizens. Almost every German (94%) regularly - i.e. at least once a week - switches to the programmes of public and private broadcasters.

Listening to the radio (88%) and making phone calls from home (87%) are also very popular - closely followed by listening to music (83%), surfing the internet (81%) and making phone calls with a smartphone (73%).

The use of smartphones for other activities is now also taken for granted by a majority of the population (57%). The popularity of chatting, playing games or surfing on a mobile phone has more than doubled in the past five years alone and people are spending more and more of their free time online. According to the Foundation's Scientific Director Professor Dr Ulrich Reinhardt, it is only a matter of time before digital media reach the top spots.

For the first time in years, the proportion of newspaper readers remained constant compared to the previous year, while the proportion of regular social media users actually fell slightly compared to 2018. Reinhardt: "The offer of many newspapers to also provide their content digitally is showing initial success. People no longer just read at the breakfast table, but when and where it suits them. In addition to this basic requirement, content, topicality and personal relevance will also be decisive in the future."

The low levels of recreational and social time in Germans' leisure time remain striking. Only three social activities are now regularly practised by the majority of the population, with fewer people spending time with their partner or talking about important things than five years ago. Regenerative activities, such as "indulging your thoughts", sleeping in or "taking care of yourself in peace and quiet" are also less common than in the past.

The desire to spend leisure time regularly doing sport, going to the park, the cinema or the theatre is more fantasy than reality. Almost all leisure activities carried out by the majority of the population take place at home. The only exceptions are smartphone use and time spent with a partner. However, even these activities are increasingly carried out at home.

Reinhardt: "The everyday leisure activities of German citizens are quite routine. After work, people relax on the sofa, catch up and chat. 'Passivity instead of activity' is the motto. Activities outside the home, on the other hand, are the highlight of the week, if not the month."

Only around one in three people do sport at least once a week (35%), one in four do gardening (25%) and only one in six do something with friends or are active in a club (17% in each case). Not even one in ten people regularly go to a restaurant, pub, church, regulars' table or shopping in the shops. Cultural events are attended even less frequently. Only three per cent go to a concert at least once a month, four per cent go to the theatre and five per cent go to a museum.

Leisure time is increasingly becoming a time of stress for many Germans. In fact, 58 per cent of Germans say that they take on too much in their free time. Teenagers, young adults and singles in particular jump from one activity to the next, wanting to be everywhere and not miss out on anything. The Americans have their own abbreviation for this behaviour: FOMO - Fear of missing out, i.e. the fear of missing something in your free time.

As a result, the time spent on individual activities is decreasing, while at the same time the number of different leisure activities is increasing. "Do more in the same amount of time" is the motto. In this context, the role of social media in leisure time is also significant. What is experienced must be shared and posted almost immediately. The number of likes afterwards is sometimes more important than the activity itself. Two out of five under 25-year-olds openly admit that they are already more dependent on social media in their free time than they would like (total population: 20%). In contrast, 82 per cent of all parents complain that they have to cater too much to the needs of others in their own free time (total population: 67%). Singles express the highest level of dissatisfaction with their own leisure activities. 56 per cent state that they often do not really do what they want to do in their free time (total population: 46%).

Retired people, on the other hand, are the most satisfied with their own free time. Free from professional and family constraints, often not active on social media and knowing exactly how and with whom they want to spend their time. They can't, don't have to and don't want to be everywhere, but choose exactly the activities that they like and are good for them.

"JOMO - Joy of missing out - the conscious pleasure of missing something could be something that the rest of the population should practise more often in future"says futurologist Reinhardt.

1. Netflix and Co.

More than one in five people now watch series and films regularly (= at least once a week) via streaming providers such as Amazon Prime, Netflix, Maxdome or Sky.

2. health

Almost every second retiree does something for their own fitness/health every week - at no other stage of life is the figure higher.

3. friends

17 per cent of Germans meet up with friends in person every week, three times as many (51%) keep in touch via Facebook, Instagram and the like.

4th Shopping

Women go shopping almost twice as often as men (11%-6%), while men shop online more often (8%-7%).

5. sex

Only around one in two Germans (52%) have sex at least once a month. Five years ago, the figure was 56 per cent.

6. voluntary work

One in five volunteers at least once a month (20%) and one in three (33%) provides neighbourly help.

7. culture

4 percent go to the theatre, opera, ballet or a classical concert at least once a month, 14 percent go to the cinema and 28 percent go to a sporting event.

8th church

One in three West Germans never goes to church (31%). In the East, more than twice as many never attend a church service (71%).

9. boredom

Almost one in three young adults (31% of 18 to 24-year-olds) are often bored in their free time and don't know what to do - the national average is only 18 per cent.

10. singles

More than three quarters of all singles (76%) feel that they do not have enough free time (total population: 56%). At the same time, almost one in two (47%) admit that they often can't get off their arse in their free time (total population: 40%).

Number and representation: over 2,200 people aged 14 and over in Germany
Period of the survey: July 2019
Method: Face-to-face interviews
Survey institute: Gesellschaft für Konsumforschung (GfK), Nuremberg