Leisure participation and subjective well-being in China over two decades: a harmonized analysis with double machine learning and Shapley explanations
This study harmonizes twelve waves of the Chinese General Social Survey (2003–2023) to reveal that while leisure participation in China has shifted toward digital and physical activities, only exercise and television viewing show modest positive associations with subjective well-being, with machine learning and Shapley analyses confirming exercise as the most influential activity among twelve types.
Original paper licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). This is an AI-generated explanation of the paper below. It is not written or endorsed by the authors. For technical accuracy, refer to the original paper. Read full disclaimer
How people spend their free time has long been recognized as a key ingredient in a happy life, but understanding exactly which activities make us feel better is a complex puzzle. Scientists who study well-being look at "subjective well-being," a term that simply means how satisfied and happy a person feels about their life overall. This feeling is influenced by many things, including health, income, and relationships, but the specific ways we choose to fill our discretionary hours—the time we have left after work and chores—also play a crucial role. Researchers have found that while some leisure activities, like socializing or exercising, tend to boost happiness, others might not have the same effect, or could even be neutral. The challenge lies in tracking these changes over time, especially in a country undergoing rapid transformation, where the tools used to measure happiness and leisure habits often change from year to year, making it difficult to see the true long-term picture.
A team of researchers set out to solve this puzzle by looking at two decades of life in China, from 2003 to 2023. They wanted to see how the nation's leisure habits shifted during a period of massive economic growth and digital expansion, and how those shifts connected to the rising levels of happiness reported by the population. To do this, they gathered data from twelve different national surveys, involving nearly 120,000 people. Because the questions asked about leisure changed over time—sometimes asking for a rating on a four-point scale, other times on a seven-point scale—the researchers first had to carefully translate all these different answers into a single, consistent language. They created a common three-level scale to measure how often people engaged in activities like watching television, exercising, or using the internet, ensuring that a "frequent" answer in 2003 meant the same thing as a "frequent" answer in 2023.
Once the data was harmonized, the story that emerged was one of a nation moving away from passive, home-bound entertainment toward more active and digital pursuits. Over the twenty-year period, the average happiness score for Chinese adults rose noticeably, climbing from 3.27 to 3.88 on a five-point scale. The most dramatic change in how people spent their time was the explosion of internet use, which more than doubled in frequency. At the same time, people began exercising more often and listening to music more frequently. In contrast, the time spent watching television declined steadily. While shopping and visiting friends remained relatively stable, the overall pattern showed a clear shift: the traditional, television-centered way of spending evenings was being replaced by a mix of physical activity and screen-based digital engagement.
When the researchers analyzed the connection between these specific activities and happiness, they found that not all leisure time was created equal. After accounting for factors like age, income, education, and health, two activities stood out as having a positive link to happiness: watching television and exercising. While it might seem surprising that television viewing was associated with higher happiness, the researchers noted that this link was particularly strong for older adults and those living in rural areas, suggesting that for these groups, television might serve as an important source of connection or distraction. However, physical exercise emerged as the most consistent and robust predictor of happiness across the board. Using advanced statistical methods to isolate the effect of exercise from all other life circumstances, the team confirmed that people who exercised frequently reported higher levels of well-being than those who did not.
The study also revealed that the way people use their free time is not just a matter of personal preference but a reflection of broader social changes. As China modernized, leisure became a space where individuals could express their identities and manage their well-being. The researchers found that while the shift toward digital and active leisure was real, the impact on happiness was modest. The statistical models explained only a small portion of why some people were happier than others, indicating that factors like personality, life goals, and social comparisons play a much larger role than the specific activities people choose. The study explicitly avoided claiming that doing more exercise or watching less TV would automatically cause a person to become happier, noting that the data showed a strong association but could not prove a direct cause-and-effect relationship.
Ultimately, the research paints a picture of a society in transition, where the tools for happiness are evolving alongside the economy. The findings suggest that while digital life has become central to daily existence, it is the physical act of moving the body that remains the most reliable companion to a happy life. For policymakers, this points to the value of creating accessible spaces for physical activity and ensuring that digital engagement is meaningful rather than just a way to pass time. The study serves as a reminder that in a world of rapid change, the simple, active choices we make in our free time continue to hold a special place in our pursuit of a good life, even as the screens in our hands grow larger and more ubiquitous.
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