The average American spends 9 years watching TV.
Across all demographics, the amount of time Americans spent engaged in leisure and sports activities, including watching television, increased during the coronavirus pandemic to just over 5.5 hours per day from 5 hours in 2019, according to the survey. Men saw a 37-minute increase in leisure time during the pandemic, whereas women gained 27 minutes, the survey says. Watching television, including watching live programming, viewing DVDs, and streaming shows on TV sets, computers and portable devices, occupied the most time in 2020 of any leisure activity, ranging from more than 5 hours per day for those 75 and older to just over 2 hours per day for those ages 35 to 44.