GALLUP NEWS SERVICE
PRINCETON, NJ -- Times change, and with those changes come new attitudes. Gallup has been tracking these attitudes for almost 70 years, making it possible to compare the lifestyles of today with yesteryear.
Take bathing, for instance. OK, so it's not the most exciting thing in the world, but a new CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll shows Americans are bathing more now than a half century ago. The new poll, conducted December 20-21, found that 75% of Americans shower or bathe every day in the winter. By way of comparison, only 29% of Americans told Gallup interviewers in 1950 that they bathed every day in the winter. Back then, 52% of Americans showered three times a week or less.
Physical fitness has changed from a lifestyle for athletes to a ritual for many Americans. In 1961, only 24% of Americans said they took part in some form of daily activity (outside of work, including housework) to keep physically fit. Today that figure is 60%, similar to results of a 1984 poll. As might be expected, younger Americans between the ages of 18-29 record a high percentage of participation in fitness activities (64%); however, the surprising statistic is that 69% of those over 65 also take part in daily physical activity.
Americans may also be watching less television today, giving credence to claims from industry leaders that the viewing audience is being distracted by the Internet. Nearly three out of ten Americans, 28%, today watch more than four hours of television a day during the week. That percentage has risen from 23% in 1985, while the percentage who watch between three and four hours a day has fallen from 37% in the 1985 Gallup poll to 29% today. Further, the percentage who watch less than three hours a day has risen from 35% in 1985 to 42% today.
American Vacation Habits
When asked whether they had taken a vacation away from home within
the last 12 months that lasted six nights or more, 57% of Americans
said no, while 42% said yes.
One might expect that the ability to take such a vacation would be
dependent on income, and Gallup's findings support this: 68% of
those earning $75,000 or more annually took at least a week-long
vacation trip in the past 12 months, compared to only 28% of those
earning less than $20,000.
Gender Roles Changing for Teens
One area where modern times may be unsettling to some Americans
(especially fathers of teenage girls) is the ritual of dating. In a
1950 Gallup poll, 29% of Americans thought it was acceptable for a
girl to phone a boy and ask him out for a date, while 62%
considered it unacceptable.
Times have changed. Today, 70% of Americans say it's fine for a girl to call a boy, while 28% (mostly older Americans and those living in the South) still follow the more traditional view. Interestingly, 80% of men say it's OK for a girl to ask a boy out, compared to 62% of women.
Survey Methods
The results below are based on telephone interviews with a randomly
selected national sample of 1,031 adults, 18 years and older,
conducted December 20-21, 1999. For results based on this sample,
one can say with 95 percent confidence that the maximum error
attributable to sampling and other random effects is plus or minus
3 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question
wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can
introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion
polls.
What time do you usually get up on weekdays?
| Jun 29-Jul 4, 1950 | December 20-21, 1999 | |
|---|---|---|
| Before 5 a.m. | 6% | 8% |
| At 5 a.m. | 10 | 9 |
| Between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m. | 13 | 13 |
| At 6 a.m. | 18 | 16 |
| Between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m. | 19 | 15 |
| At 7 a.m. | 15 | 12 |
| Between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. | 8 | 9 |
| At 8 a.m. | 4 | 5 |
| Between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. | 2 | 3 |
| At 9 a.m. | 1 | 2 |
| Between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. | 1 | * |
| At 10 a.m. | * | 3 |
| After 10 a.m. | 1 | 2 |
| Other | * | 1 |
| No opinion | 1 | 2 |
| 100% | 100% |
SUMMARY
| Jun 29-Jul 4, 1950 | December 20-21, 1999 | |
|---|---|---|
| Before 6 a.m. | 29% | 30% |
| 6-7 a.m. | 52 | 43 |
| After 7 a.m. | 17 | 24 |
| No opinion/other | 1 | 3 |
| 100% | 100% |
At what time do you usually get up on Saturdays?
| Jun 29-Jul 4, 1950 | December 20-21, 1999 | |
|---|---|---|
| Before 5 a.m. | 5% | 3% |
| At 5 a.m. | 8 | 3 |
| Between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m. | 9 | 4 |
| At 6 a.m. | 15 | 7 |
| Between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m. | 13 | 11 |
| At 7 a.m. | 14 | 17 |
| Between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. | 8 | 11 |
| At 8 a.m. | 11 | 13 |
| Between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. | 3 | 7 |
| At 9 a.m. | 6 | 7 |
| Between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. | 3 | 2 |
| At 10 a.m. | * | 5 |
| After 10 a.m. | 2 | 7 |
| Other | * | 1 |
| No opinion | 3 | 2 |
| 100% | 100% |
SUMMARY
| Jun 29-Jul 4, 1950 | December 20-21, 1999 | |
|---|---|---|
| Before 6 a.m. | 22% | 10% |
| 6-7 a.m. | 42 | 35 |
| After 7 a.m. | 33 | 52 |
| No opinion/other | 3 | 3 |
| 100% | 100% |
About how often do you take a bath or shower in the winter?
| Jun 29-Jul 4, 1950 | December 20-21, 1999 | |
|---|---|---|
| Once a week | 17% | 1% |
| Twice a week | 21 | 2 |
| Three times a week | 14 | 3 |
| Four times a week | 2 | 2 |
| Five times a week | * | 1 |
| Six times a week | * | 1 |
| Seven times a week/every day | 29 | 65 |
| Twice a day (‡) | -- | 10 |
| Every other day/every two days | 9 | 11 |
| Other | 2 | 3 |
| No opinion | 5 | 1 |
| 100% | 100% |
SUMMARY
| Jun 29-Jul 4, 1950 | December 20-21, 1999 | |
|---|---|---|
| At least once a day | 29% | 75% |
| Less frequently | 63 | 21 |
| No opinion/other | 7 | 4 |
| 100% | 100% |
Within the last 12 months, have you taken any vacation which took you away from home six nights in a row, or more?
| Yes | No | No opinion | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 Dec 20-21 | 42% | 57 | 1 |
| 1968 Dec 5-10 | 38% | 62 | -- |
Could you estimate how many hours you spend watching TV on an average weekday, that is, Monday through Friday?
| Less than 3 hours | 3-4 hours | More than 4 hours | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 Dec 20-21 | 42% | 29 | 28 |
| 1993 Nov 19-21§ | § | § | § |
| 1990 Aug 16§ | § | § | § |
| 1985 Jun 22-25 | 35% | 37 | 23 |
| 1981 Dec 31§ | § | § | § |
| 1981 Apr-Jun | 38% | 37 | 25 |
§ response categories recorded in these years not consistent with current categories
Do you think it's all right for a girl to telephone a boy to ask for a date, say, to take her out to a movie?
| Yes | No | No opinion | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 Dec 20-21 | 70% | 28 | 2 |
| 1950 Jun 29-Jul 4 | 29% | 62 | 8 |
Aside from any work you do at home or at a job, do you do anything regularly -- that is, on a daily basis -- that helps keep you physically fit?
| Yes | No/no opinion | |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 Dec 20-21 | 60% | 40 |
| 1987 Oct 23-26 | 49% | 51 |
| 1984 May 7-13 | 59% | 41 |
| 1980 Apr 11-14 | 46% | 54 |
| 1977 Sep 9-12 | 48% | 52 |
| 1961 Oct 19 | 24% | 75 |
Do you have a pet cat or dog?
| Yes | No/no opinion | |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 Dec 20-21 | 54% | 46 |
| 1997 Apr 2-5*** | 56% | 44 |
| 1995 Aug 7-9** | 61% | 39 |
| 1990 Jul 19-22 | 58% | 42 |
| 1985 Jul 15-16‡ | 57% | 43 |
| 1952 Mar 14-19 | 48% | 52 |
‡NBC News; ** US News and World Report/CNN/IBM; *** CBS News/New York Times
Which of the following best describes your current situation - employed full time, employed part time, retired, a homemaker, a student, unemployed but looking for work, unemployed and not looking for work?
| December 20-21, 1999 | |
|---|---|
| Employed full time | 52% |
| Employed part time | 7 |
| Retired | 21 |
| Homemaker | 8 |
| Student | 6 |
| Unemployed but looking for work | 2 |
| Unemployed and not looking for work | 1 |
| DISABLED (vol.) | 2 |
| No opinion | 1 |
| 100% |
How do you get to work?
BASED ON --640-- EMPLOYED; ± 4 PCT PTS
IF MORE THAN ONE METHOD: Which is the primary method you use to get to work?
| Walk/ bicycle |
Drive car/ truck |
Bus | Subway/ Public Trans- port |
Car- pool |
Work at home | Other | No opin- ion |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 Dec 20-21 | 4% | 87 | 2 | 1 | 1 | * | 5 | * |
| 1971 Apr 23-26 | 6% # | 81 | 6 | 3 | * | * | 4 | -- |
| 1947 May 14-17 | 26% | 32 | 13 | 12 | * | 12 | * | 10 |
(#) Category "Bicycle/motorbike" included in "Other"; 6% represents "Walk" only.
* = less than 0.5%
(vol.) = volunteered response