We look into recent studies showing what percentage of Britons pursues hobbies and which activities prove most popular.
The activity your parents pushed you to pursue in bid of carving some kind of social life for yourself, hobbies can range far and wide covering the time demanding to minimal effort choices. Time permitting; it can be difficult to juggle hobbies with other demanding life areas in the mix, which is why it is surprising a recent study by AXA Insurance has shown up to 95% of British adults say they have a hobby which they spend one working day a week on.
What may be more surprising to some is that the same study showed 26% of us actually spend more time on hobbies than on our social lives, which could make the case that many people are prioritising self-indulgence in a passion or craft to enrich personal needs over social obligation.
Whether your hobby is building something, increasing education or simply slobbing out on the sofa watching Netflix (being able to watch a whole series in a day is a talent, ok), your hobby should be deemed no less significant if it makes you happy.
Dubbed the nation’s number one hobby (from AXA insurance statistics), Reading topped the list as our favourite pastime, proving the power of the written word isn’t quite on its way out yet in a world of text speak and emojis.
Runners up for most pursued hobbies also include gaming and coding, reflecting a rise in the tech-savvy who move with the times to stay current with changing platforms. What will be interesting is the level of intellect these subjects will offer in a few years with so many individuals taking up learning more as an activity for fun.
With TV being a main influencer and somewhat hobby of itself, it’s only natural our viewing choices can inspire action to take up new side-lines of our own. AXA’s report lists the Top 10 Shows which have influenced viewers into a new hobby, with the results being perhaps expected with the sheer popularity of the programs reach.
Winner of most influential show was The Great British Bake Off, rousing countless Brits to get reacquainted in the kitchen and test their baking skills at home. Other contenders stick with the cookery theme, with alternate options in The X Factor, Countryfile and Britain’s Got Talent.
Top 10 TV Shows Which Have Inspired New Hobbies
- The Great British Bake Off
- Masterchef
- Come Dine With Me
- Antiques Roadshow
- X Factor
- Strictly Come Dancing
- Countryfile
- Britain’s Got Talent
- Saturday Kitchen
- The Great British Sewing Bee
Not just demanding of time, our Brits hobbies are something they are willing to invest in, as the average activity lover spends £44.42 per month pursuing such interests.
Although heavily popular, it doesn’t mean us Brits merely stick to the one hobby, as 66% of us admit to giving ours up due to not having time, with musical instruments being the number one abandoned vocation.
Whether fickle or time restricted, it doesn’t make the dedication to that hobby any the less significant at the time. Bottom line if you have a passion you wish to follow, do it to your hearts content and if that no longer satisfies then move on. As a partial Japanese learning, clarinet playing, sewing, former Brownie, I know all about skipping through activities and the more you try the more you learn which ones are truly worth sticking with.
For more information about AXA Insurance’s Live Boldly campaign, and details on the Live Boldly cycling event featuring Olympic cyclist for Great Britain, Philip Hindes on 9th July, please visit: www.axa.co.uk/liveboldly
*All figures in this press release are obtained from research commissioned by AXA of 2002 UK residents. The research was carried out by Opinium in May 2016.
Do you undertake any hobbies? Let us know in the comments below.
