Seniors’ participation in selected activities varies by age

Interesting that the participation rate for unpaid household activities does not vary across age groups. Specifically, 85% of future seniors (aged 55 to 64) engaged in unpaid household work over the course of a given day, compared with 88% for those aged 65 to 74 and 87% for those aged 75 and over.

It is possible that although seniors have more time for household work, the demand for this type of work declines due to smaller household sizes. Furthermore, it is also possible that older adults may also experience disabilities or be in poorer health, which may make certain activities, including household work, more challenging.

For other activities, the participation rates for civic, religious and organizational activities vary slightly across the different age groups. The participation rate in such activities was 10% for seniors aged 75 and over compared with 8% for those aged 65 to 74. Although there are some differences in the participation rates, the data also show that the time spent on these activities remains fairly consistent across all age groups.

There are, however, differences in the participation rates for leisure and physical activities by age. However, the amount of time spent on these activities did not vary by age. Seniors in all three age groups who engaged in these activities spent just over two hours doing so. In addition, and consistent with existing research, seniors aged 75 and over were significantly less likely to use technology than those aged 65 to 74 (22% versus 33%). However, among those who used technology, the time they spent did not vary significantly across the different age groups.

The data also show that the participation rates and time spent on more passive activities significantly varies across age groups. Not only do the participation rates for watching television and reading increase with age, but the data also show an increase by age in time spent on these activities. For example, the average time spent watching television increased by one hour for persons between the ages of 55 and 64 as well as for those 75 and over. A similar relationship can be found between reading and ageing. This suggests that as seniors age and move away from paid work, some of that time is being replaced by more passive activities.

Finally, the amount of time seniors spends sleeping also increases with age. This is consistent with existing research that shows time spent sleeping increases with age for both men and women, although short sleep duration and poor sleep quality have also been found to be common among seniors. The research shows that persons aged 55 to 64 spend an average of 8.5 hours sleeping. Seniors aged 65 to 74 spend 8.9 hours sleeping, compared with 9.3 hours for those aged 75 and over.

Senior women and men spend their time in different ways 2

Senior men are more likely to participate in outdoor activities than senior women (30% versus 10%). When senior men do outdoor work, they spend more than one extra hour (an additional 67 minutes) on it than senior women.

In addition to taking unpaid household work into account, it is also important to examine other types of activities such as leisure and recreational pursuits and television watching. Various types of leisure activities have different implications for well-being and ageing. For example, some activities can help maintain physical and social capabilities and promote health, while others are less beneficial as they are more sedentary and can be more socially isolating. Activities such as socializing and communicating; volunteering; walking; exercising; participating in organized sports; attending cultural events; pursuing hobbies; writing letters, books and poems; and using technology such as the Internet engage seniors. Passive leisure activities, on the other hand, refer to unstructured or passive forms of activity. These include watching television, listening to music and reading.

For active pursuits, senior men were more likely to engage in leisure and physical activities (44% versus 39%) while senior women were more likely to participate in socializing and communicating (46% versus 37%). For passive leisure activities, senior women were more likely to read (41% versus 35%) while senior men were more likely to watch television (87% versus 82%).

Although senior men and senior women may participate in different activities, the amount of time they spend on these activities is not significantly different. The only exception is watching television as senior women spend less time, on average, on this activity (3.9 hours versus 4.2 hours per day).

Senior women and men spend their time in different ways

This table displays the results of Participation rate and time spent on selected activities Participation rate, Average time spent (participants), Men (ref.) and Women, calculated using percent, minutes and hours units of measure (appearing as column headers).
	Participation rate		Average time spent (participants)
	Men (ref.)	Women	Men (ref.)	Women	Men (ref.)	Women
	percent		minutes		hours
Paid work	13	6	398	343	6.6	5.7
Unpaid household work	83	91	177	209	2.9	3.5
Meal preparation	61	76	78	91	1.3	1.5
Indoor cleaning	33	68	75	122	1.2	2.0
Outdoor cleaning/maintenance	30	10	166	99	2.8	1.7
Other unpaid work	28	34	86	80	1.4	1.3
Shopping for goods and services	36	39	82	87	1.4	1.4
Active pursuits	75	77	213	209	3.6	3.5
Engaging in civic, religious and organizational activities	8	10	119	131	2.0	2.2
Socializing and communicating	37	46	135	135	2.2	2.2
Engaging in cultural activities	3	4	138	156	2.3	2.6
Engaging in leisure and physical activities	44	39	132	133	2.2	2.2
Using technology	30	27	129	110	2.1	1.8
Passive leisure activities	92	89	291	276	4.9	4.6
Watching television or videos	87	82	255	235	4.2	3.9
Listening to music and radio	6	3	104	109	1.7	1.8
Reading	35	41	119	119	2.0	2.0
Sleeping	100	100	542	544	9.0	9.1
Source: Statistics Canada, General Social Survey, 2015.

Senior women and men spend their time in different ways. This suggests that gender differences in paid and domestic work persist among seniors, even though they have generally transitioned out of employment and parental roles. For example, the participation rate for paid work among senior men (i.e., the proportion of persons who reported having done an activity on an average day) was 13% versus 6% for senior women.

There are also differences in unpaid household work. The participation rate for senior women was 91% versus 83% for senior men. Further examination of unpaid household work showed differences in the participation rates for certain activities. For example, senior women are two times more likely than senior men (68% versus 33%) to do some indoor cleaning during the day, and they are also more likely to engage in meal preparation than their male counterparts (76% versus 61%). At the same time, women aged 65 and over reported spending, on average, significantly more time on these activities. For instance, senior women spent an average of 47 more minutes per day on indoor cleaning and 13 more minutes on meal preparation.

Factors that affect the time use of seniors 1

Seniors are increasing as a percentage of the population. According to the 2016 Census, there were 5.9 million seniors in Canada, which accounted for 16.9% of the total population. In comparison, there were 2.4 million seniors in 1981 or 10% of the population.

The first baby boomers turned 65 in 2011, which has led to the largest increase (+20%) in the number of seniors in Canada in 70 years. In addition, although they represent a relatively small proportion of the overall senior population, centenarians were the fastest-growing population between 2011 and 2016 (+41%). The overall population in Canada, in comparison, grew by 5% during the same period.

As a result of the rapid increase in the number of seniors, 2016 marked the first time that the census enumerated more seniors than children aged 14 and under.

The proportion of the population aged 65 and over is also expected to continue to increase over the coming decades and, by 2031, there may be as many as 9.6 million seniors in Canada, which would represent 23% of the total population. An ageing population has important implications as more Canadians are receiving an old age pension and are seeking health care and services, while housing and transportations needs are also changing. As a result, understanding the factors associated with time use among this growing population can provide information for policymakers to develop long-term strategies.

Another important factor is that the senior population is increasingly female, given that women have a longer life expectancy than men. According to the 2016 Census, among seniors (aged 65 and over), the number of women exceeded the number of men by more than 20%, while there were two women for every man in the population aged 85 and over.

Housework is defined as exercise, so it in good to see that both men and women are engaging in this type of physical activity. In 2015, 91% of senior women (aged 65 and over) engaged in unpaid household work on a typical day, compared with 83% of senior men. When they engaged in unpaid household work, senior women also spent more time on such activities (3.5 hours a day) than senior men did (2.9 hours).

About three-quarters of men and women aged 65 and over engaged in other active pursuits such as socializing and using technology, spending approximately 3.5 hours doing so on a typical day. A further 9 in 10 seniors also engaged in passive leisure activities such as watching television and reading.

Factors that affect the time use of seniors include age, sex, employment status, educational attainment and living arrangements. Older seniors, for example, spend more time on passive leisure activities (e.g., watching television and reading) and sleep more than younger seniors.

Health status also affects seniors’ participation in some activities. Seniors who reported that their health was poor or fair were less likely to participate in socializing and reading, as well as civic, religious and organizational activities than those who said that their health status was excellent or very good.

Between 1986 and 2015, the participation rate of senior women in active pursuits declined, from 77% to 69%. In addition, both senior men and women decreased their average time spent on active pursuits over the period, by 35 minutes and 40 minutes a day, respectively.