Study title

Children and Youth Leisure Survey 2024

Dataset ID Number

FSD4060

Persistent identifiers

https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD4060
https://doi.org/10.60686/t-fsd4060

Data Type

Quantitative

Authors

• Finnish Youth Research Society
• Ministry of Education and Culture. State Youth Council

Abstract

The survey studied the leisure time activities and physical activity of Finnish children and young people aged 10-29. In addition to leisure time activities, the main themes of this year's survey were summer activities and social media use.

First, respondents were asked how often they engage in various leisure activities, such as sports, arts, and cultural activities, spend time in different leisure settings, listen to music, and participate in associations. The survey also explored satisfaction with different areas of life, as well as experiences of stress and feelings of belonging.

Questions related to summer activities focused particularly on 15- to 29-year-olds and covered topics such as the length of summer holiday, activities done during the holiday, and wellbeing. The section on summer employment examined, for example, job seeking, work experiences, the duration of employment, and the reasons for not seeking summer jobs.

Next, the study examined how often respondents, for example, read, play games, follow the media, and use various social media platforms. In addition, respondents were asked about their experiences related to social media, such as social comparison and negative or harmful encounters. Respondents under the age of 18 were also asked about their guardians' supervision of social media use and restrictions on phone use. Finally, young people's views on restricting smartphone use in primary and lower secondary schools were explored.

Background variables include the respondent's age group, gender, mother tongue, region of residence, living arrangements, household composition, education, economic activity, and parents' highest level of education.

Keywords

adolescents; children; hobbies; leisure time; leisure time activities; mass media; seasonal employment; smartphones; social media; time budgets; well-being (health)

Topic Classification

• Social sciences (Fields of Science Classification)
• Children (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• Youth (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• Leisure, tourism and sport (CESSDA Topic Classification)

Series

Children and Youth Leisure Surveys

Distributor

Finnish Social Science Data Archive

Access

The dataset is (B) available for research, teaching and study.

Data Collector

• IROResearch

Time Period Covered

2024

Collection Dates

2024-08-21 – 2024-10-26

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Finland

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Individual

Universe

Children and young people aged 10-29 living in mainland Finland

Time Method

Cross-section

Sampling Procedure

Probability: Stratified: Disproportional

For the study, a stratified random sample of young people's address data was drawn from the Digital and Population Data Services Agency. The strata were based on legal gender (male, female), age group (10-14, 15-19, 20-24, 25-29), and mother tongue (Finnish, Swedish, other), resulting in a total of 24 strata (2 × 4 × 3). The aim was to reach at least 1,400 respondents, with the distribution of respondents across strata reflecting the population distribution as closely as possible. Groups that were expected to have lower response rates were oversampled. In total, 15,671 invitation letters were sent. The survey could be completed in Finnish, Swedish, or English. Individuals in strata where the target sample size had not been reached by 17 September 2024 were contacted with SMS reminders and reminder postcards. A total of 1,419 responses were received, and the target number of respondents was achieved in 15 out of the 24 strata.

Collection Mode

Self-administered questionnaire: Web-based (CAWI)

Research Instrument

Structured questionnaire

Response Rate

9

Data File Language

Downloaded data package may contain different language versions of the same files.

The data files of this dataset are available in the following languages: Finnish.

FSD translates quantitative data into English on request, free of charge. More information on ordering data translation.

Data Version

1.0

Completeness of Data and Restrictions

The archived questionnaire has some shortcomings. The labels in the data are consistent with the questions asked.

For identification reasons, the researcher has removed all open-ended responses from the data.

The dataset includes only those respondents who gave their consent to the archiving of their responses. In addition, the researcher has recoded response option K from the housing-related question battery into new categories in variables t6 and t7 and removed the original variable.

Weighting

There are no weight variables in the data.

Citation Requirement

The data and its creators shall be cited in all publications and presentations for which the data have been used. The bibliographic citation may be in the form suggested by the archive or in the form required by the publication.

Bibliographical Citation

Finnish Youth Research Society & Ministry of Education and Culture: Children and Youth Leisure Survey 2024 [dataset]. Data version 1.0 (2026-03-25). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. DOI: https://doi.org/10.60686/t-fsd4060; URN: https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD4060

Deposit Requirement

Notify FSD of all publications where you have used the data by sending the citation information to user-services.fsd@tuni.fi.

Disclaimer

The original data creators and the archive bear no responsibility for any results or interpretations arising from the reuse of the data.

Related Materials

Kivijärvi, Antti & Happonen, Konsta (2025) Kesä ja kännykät: Lasten ja nuorten vapaa-aikatutkimus 2024. Nuorisotutkimusseura, verkkojulkaisuja 191. Valtion nuorisoneuvoston julkaisuja, verkkojulkaisuja 79. Helsinki: Opetus- ja kulttuuriministeriö, Valtion nuorisoneuvosto, Valtion liikuntaneuvosto ja Nuorisotutkimusverkosto. https://doi.org/10.57049/nts.1683

Related Publications

Kivijärvi, Antti & Happonen, Konsta (2025) Kesä ja kännykät: Lasten ja nuorten vapaa-aikatutkimus 2024. Nuorisotutkimusseura, verkkojulkaisuja 191. Valtion nuorisoneuvoston julkaisuja, verkkojulkaisuja 79. Helsinki: Opetus- ja kulttuuriministeriö, Valtion nuorisoneuvosto, Valtion liikuntaneuvosto & Nuorisotutkimusverkosto. https://doi.org/10.57049/nts.1683