Behavioral Phenotyping of Arts Engagement Using 20 Years of the American Time Use Survey

Arts and cultural engagement have been linked to health and wellbeing but there has not been any national monitoring of arts and cultural behaviors in the United States. Given its potential benefits, understanding how engagement is changing is vital. We used the American Time Use Survey (ATUS), a continuous cross-sectional survey (2003-2023) measuring activities during the last 24 h. We estimated rates of arts engagement on an average day; determined how long people spent on the arts; explored with whom activities were done; identified where activities were done; examined potential disparities across different subgroups of the population; and described the time trends in these measures. In this nationally representative sample (n = 236,270), daily arts engagement rates were stable from 2003 to 2023, with small underlying increases in participatory engagement (dancing/performing/arts/crafts/writing) and slight declines in receptive engagement (attending performing arts/museums/watching dancing). There were less consistent trends in time spent on the arts. People increasingly did arts activities alone at home. There were disparities in engagement, with differing trends according to sex, age, and income. To understand population-level engagement, arts behaviors should be monitored nationally. Tracking different activities separately is crucial, alongside the factors influencing participation.