Study: The busy lives of teens

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Despite the stereotypical image of nonchalant, lounging teenagers, many teens carry a heavier load than people give them credit for, according to a new study.

In fact, compared with nine other countries (with time-use surveys) from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Canadian teens ranked first in terms of average hours spent on unpaid and paid labour during the school week.

Furthermore, averaged over the week, including school and non-school days, teens did an average of 7.1 hours of unpaid and paid labour per day in 2005. This 50-hour workweek was virtually the same as that of adult Canadians aged 20 to 64 doing the same activities.

The study, published today in the online edition of Perspectives on Labour and Income, is based on time use data from the 2005 General Social Survey. The data allowed a detailed examination of one 24-hour day.

The study found that the vast majority of teens aged 15 to 19 living at home with their parents attend school. In 2005, these teenagers did an average of 9.2 hours of school work, homework, paid work and housework on school days and 3.5 hours on weekends.

The time teens spent on these skill-enhancing activities is arguably a positive investment in their long-term personal and economic well-being. However, not surprisingly, the relatively high workloads involved do result in some stress.

For example, 16% considered themselves workaholics, 39% felt under constant pressure to accomplish more than they could handle, and nearly two-thirds (64%) cut back on sleep to get things done.

Also, only 45% of teens with high stress reported being very happy and/or very satisfied with life, significantly lower than that of teens with little or no stress (around 72%).

After school attendance, homework was the most time-consuming unpaid activity for teens, with 60% doing an average of 2 hours and 20 minutes every day.

Family environment is a strong predictor of this activity. Teens were significantly more likely to do homework and more of it if both parents had a university education, if they lived in a two-parent intact family (where a divorce has not taken place), and if their parents were foreign-born.

Interestingly, boys with Canadian-born parents did significantly less homework than girls in similar families, and less than either girls or boys with immigrant parents. Also important, teens with demanding paid jobs (20 hours or more per week) did significantly less homework than those not employed.

Age and type of day (school versus non-school) were strongly significant predictors of teens being involved in daily paid work. Paid work was the only productive activity that increased over time.

Although some studies have shown part-time student employment to be positively linked with personal responsibility, dependability and future productivity, an excess of it can interfere with school. Furthermore, this study shows that teenagers with long paid workweeks reported higher levels of personal stress.

Nearly 4 in 10 teens did some housework daily, averaging about one hour. Although overall gender differences have narrowed over the past 20 years, in 2005, girls with immigrant parents did significantly more housework than boys in such families.

Time spent on housework was also higher in rural areas and in two-parent blended families.

Definitions, data sources and methods: survey numbers, including related surveys, 3701 and 4503.

The article "The busy lives of teens" is now available in the May 2007 online edition of Perspectives on Labour and Income, Vol. 8, no. 5 (75-001-XWE, free), from the Publications module of our website.

For more information or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Katherine Marshall (613-951-6890; katherine.marshall@statcan.gc.ca), Labour and Household Surveys Analysis Division.