Among those who follow at least one sport in season, is feeling ignored because a partner or spouse spends too much time watching sports a problem?
Overall, only 8% of respondents in the Center’s study of sports fan behavior and media use agreed somewhat or strongly that they felt ignored because a partner or spouse spends too much time watching sports.
Gender
More women than men feel ignored by a spouse spending too much time watching sports (10% of women versus 5% of men agreeing somewhat or strongly).
Children in the household
A second factor that made somewhat of a difference was whether respondents had children in the household or not. Ten percent of respondents with children in the household agreed somewhat or strongly that they felt ignored because a partner or spouse spends too much time watching sports, but only five percent of those from households without children said so.
To truly get at the reality of the existence of the “sports widow” or other people who feel abandoned by a sports-obsessed partner or spouse, we will have to survey those who follow no sports at all (rather than just those who follow at least one sport in season). We plan to do just that.
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June 4, 2018