Hobbies? We'd rather watch the television: One in four now lists activity as their favourite pastime Only five per cent said they most enjoyed playing a team sport Two per cent of the population still enjoy stamp and coin collecting A third said they most enjoyed reading in their spare time Many of us have happy childhood memories of collecting stamps or playing five-a-side football. But according to new research, these wholesome hobbies are falling out of fashion, with much of the population now more content to sit back on the couch in front of the box. A quarter of the people now list their favourite past-time as watching television â€" compared with just five per cent who enjoy playing a team sport. One in four people said their favourite hobby was watching television Only four per cent said they spent their free time practising a musical instrument, while fishing â€" once enjoyed by many fathers and sons, was only enjoyed by two per cent. Stamp and coin collecting, which had its heyday in the 1950s, is now only indulged in by two per cent while model making has a following of just one per cent. Campaigners said the demise of these traditional hobbies was symptomatic of a society preoccupied with celebrity and reality TV. Tam Fry, of the National Obesity Forum said: â€˜Thereâ€™s a real shift now from running around outside to watching TV. â€˜People have got addicted to reality TV. Television programmes are very watchable and a lot of people enjoy them. â€˜But itâ€™s also easier to watch television. What depresses me is that people say they havenâ€™t got time to do other things. â€˜But if they spent just half an hour less watching television and doing an activity instead it would help them shape up.â€™ The survey, by Santander, also shows that only eight per cent of people enjoy visiting museums while nine per cent said they indulged in the arts. Surprisingly, a third of people said they enjoyed reading in their spare time â€" the most popular hobby of all. However, in London and Scotland, a higher proportion of respondents opted for TV as their favourite hobby than reading. A third of people said reading was their favourite hobby while only two per cent said they still enjoyed stamp collecting Meanwhile, a fifth chose travel as their hobby of choice and 12 per cent chose clubbing and socialising. Researchers also found that one in ten people across the UK have had to give up their favourite hobby in the past year because they can no longer afford it. While one in four say doing what they like best with their spare time now costs 25 per cent more than it did 12 months ago. Two in five of those with hobbies say they would like to take up further hobbies if they had the money. Six per cent of people even say their main hobby is now looking for money saving vouchers or two-for-one offers at shops and supermarkets. Sean Oâ€™Meara, editor of Watchmywallet.co.uk, a money-saving tips website, said: â€˜Itâ€™s a shame that traditional hobbies are declining, but itâ€™s not surprising. â€˜When one considers the cost of most hobbies, compared to the cost of watching television or browsing the Internet, itâ€™s easy to see how these activities could replace hobbies when people are looking to while away their free time. â€˜Sitting on the sofa is all many people can afford, due to the continually rising cost of living.â€™