While sleep tops the daily lives of Turks, newspaper reading habits have halved in the last 10 years

The most comprehensive data on how individuals in Turkey spend their time was revealed by the "Time Use Survey," which was conducted in 2025 for the third time. The report sheds light on how much time individuals allocate to daily activities based on age, gender, and employment status.

In 2025, individuals aged 10 and over spent an average of 8 hours and 55 minutes sleeping, with this duration reaching an average of 9 hours for women and 8 hours and 49 minutes for men. While the weekday sleep average was 8 hours and 41 minutes, this duration rose to 9 hours and 28 minutes on weekends.

While an average of 3 hours and 15 minutes per day was allocated to eating, drinking, and personal care activities, this was followed by 2 hours and 25 minutes for employment-related work and 2 hours and 22 minutes for household and family care.

GENDER DIFFERENCES IN TIME ALLOCATED TO ACTIVITIES DREW ATTENTION

Those aged 15 and over spend an average of 2 hours and 39 minutes per day on employment-related activities. However, for employed individuals, this duration increases to 5 hours and 41 minutes. While employed men spend an average of 6 hours per day on work-related matters, this rate was 4 hours and 58 minutes for employed women.

Family and home care require much more time for women. While women aged 15 and over spend 4 hours and 3 minutes of their day on these tasks, men spend only 58 minutes. For employed women, this duration rises to 2 hours and 38 minutes, and for those not employed, it reaches 4 hours and 33 minutes. Among men, those who are employed spend an average of 47 minutes on housework, while those who are not employed spend 1 hour and 17 minutes.

TIME ALLOCATED TO SPORTS IN DAILY LIFE IS AT THE LOWEST LEVEL

Sports and outdoor activities stood out as the activity to which Turks allocate the least amount of time; only 12 minutes per day. Women do sports for an average of 9 minutes per day, while men do so for 16 minutes. Following the time allocated to sports, an average of 26 minutes was allocated to hobbies and games, and 37 minutes to volunteer work and meetings.

Children and young people draw a different profile from adults regarding activities. In the 10-14 age group, it was determined that a relatively high amount of time, such as 1 hour and 9 minutes, was allocated to hobbies and games, and 27 minutes to sports. While the 15-24 age range stands out in terms of social life and entertainment, habits such as watching television and listening to the radio are more common among those over 55.

FOOTBALL IS ON THE DECLINE, VOLLEYBALL IS ON THE RISE

The research revealed that those who engaged in sports within the last 4 weeks mostly walked or ran (11.7%). The rate of those playing football fell to 4.1%; in 2015, this rate was 5.2%. Volleyball, on the other hand, showed an increase, and the rate of those playing volleyball rose from 0.9% to 1.4%. Equipment-based sports were also among the other physical activities that stood out with a rate of 2.5%.

NEWSPAPER AND MAGAZINE READING HAS DECLINED, SOCIAL MEDIA USE HAS EXPLODED

When looking at entertainment and cultural activities, watching television still stands out as the most popular activity by far, and 88.8% of participants have this habit. The rate of those spending time on social media rose to 71.7% and is higher in men (77%) compared to women (66.6%).

When compared with 2015 data, the rate of those spending time on social media has nearly doubled (from 33.9% to 71.7%). In contrast, the rate of those reading newspapers, magazines, and similar printed publications declined from 39.4% to 20.1%, decreasing by almost half.

The shift toward digital media and the move away from traditional habits in the daily preferences of individuals in Turkey have reached remarkable dimensions.