Time, Consumption and the Coordination of Everyday Life

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.

Author: Dale Southerton
Publisher: Palgrave MacMillan
Published: 08/18/2020
Pages: 226
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.03lbs
Size: 8.27h x 5.83w x 0.69d
ISBN: 9780230572515

About the Author
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.