Time, Consumption and the Coordination of Everyday Life Socio-economic Change and the Ordering of Practices

Time pressure, speed and the desire for instant consumption pervade accounts of contemporary lives. Why is it that people feel pressed for time, in what ways have societies changed to create this condition, and with what implications?

 

This book examines critical contentions in the field of time and society, ranging from the emergence and dominance of ‘clock time’ and time discipline, the time pressures associated with consumer culture, through to technological innovation and the acceleration of everyday lives.

 

Through extensive analysis of empirical studies of the changing ways in which people organise and experience home, work, leisure, consumption and personal relationships, time pressure is shown to be a problem of the coordination and synchronization of activities. Appreciation of temporal rhythms – formed and reproduced through the organisation and performance of social practices – is necessary to tackle the challenges of coordination, and offers new avenues for analysing social issues such as sustainable consumption, health and well-being.

 

This book is essential reading for all of those interested in social change, consumption and time, including researchers and students from across the social sciences.  

1. Introducing Time, Temporality and Societal Change. - 2. The Rise of the Clock: Time Discipline and Consumer Culture. - 3. Time Scarcity: Work, Home and Personal Lives. - 4. Time Pressure: Innovation, Acceleration and the Speeding-up of Everyday Life. - 5. Coordinating Everyday Activities: Tim Scarcity and Harriedness. - 6. Past Times: The Contrasting Timings of Everyday Activities. - 7. Socio-Temporal Rhythms, Social Practices and Everyday Life. - 8. Conclusion: Time, Consumption and Societal Problems. 

Dale Southerton is Professor of Sociology of Consumption and Organisation at the University of Bristol and Honorary Professor of Sociology at the University of Manchester, UK; Adjunct Professor at Consumption Research Norway (SIFO), Norway; and Visiting Professor at the Department of Sociology, Copenhagen University, Denmark.