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CONSUMPTION AND PUBLIC LIFE Time, Consumption and the Coordination of Everyday Life Dale Southerton Consumption and Public Life Series Editors Frank Trentmann Birkbeck, University of London London, UK Richard Wilk Indiana University Bloomington, IN, USA The series will be a channel and focus for some of the most interesting recent work on consumption, establishing innovative approaches and a new research agenda. New approaches and public debates around consumption in modern societies will be pursued within media, politics, eth- ics, sociology, economics, management and cultural studies. More information about this series at http://www.palgrave.com/gp/series/14914 Dale Southerton Time, Consumption and the Coordination of Everyday Life Dale Southerton University of Bristol Bristol, UK Consumption and Public Life ISBN 978-0-230-57251-5 ISBN 978-1-349-60117-2 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-60117-2 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited 2020 The author(s) has/have asserted their right(s) to be identified as the author(s) of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Cover Illustration: (c) Jobalou / Getty Images This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Limited. The registered company address is: The Campus, 4 Crinan Street, London, N1 9XW, United Kingdom In loving memory of George Grant for whom time was short but who always danced like there’s nobody watching. Acknowledgements For a book focused on time published 10 years after its original deadline, there are many possible puns: not least that it is about time the book was published! In the terms of my own analysis, this book has had a long duration, its content has been synchronized with many parallel projects and activities, the tempo of my writing has been a mix of bursts of activity and many more times staring at a screen. Sequences of many kind have been a challenge, from the sequential ordering of the content of this book (which theory belongs best to what chapter) through to whether to begin the working day by clearing emails to focus on book writing or push them to the end of the day (I never did find the most effective sequence). The greatest challenge was coordinating the periodicities of book writing with all the other social practices of which my day- to- day life consists: whether reserving particular days of the week for book writing or the constant delaying ‘until the summer’ in the hope that my academic responsibilities would wane enough for me to devote concentrated peri- ods to the book. Of course, the summer is also the time for holidays and an opportunity to spend it with my family, and so 10 years late feels somewhat acceptable! One consequence of the temporalities of the writing process is that I have a huge number of people to thank—too many to properly recognize in these acknowledgements. The initial ideas for this book took shape through many conversations with colleagues at the ESRC Centre for vii viii Acknowledgements Research on Innovation and Competition and the European Sociological Association’s Consumption Research Network. Notable amongst the many colleagues that shared ideas were Judy Wajcman, Mark Harvey, Jukka Gronow and Bente Halkier. I have also benefitted enormously from many colleagues who helped me to find time and develop good practices to perform the empirical work that underpins this book: Brian Heaphy, Wendy Bottero, Colette Fagan, Fiona Devine, Carol Smart, Chris Orme and Alistair Ulph. I must thank all members of the Sustainable Consumption Institute and Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Sustainable Practices Research Group who have chal- lenged, added and inspired further thinking on time, consumption and practices. The influence of these colleagues will be noticeable from the corpus of material reported in the pages that follow, but a thank you for the many conversations relevant to this work is especially warranted for Frank Trentmann, Ted Schatzki, Dan Welch, Luke Yates, Nicola Spurling and Stanley Blue. Throughout this project, and especially towards the end when the book was taking shape, there have been many additional colleagues who have offered insights into new literatures, empirical studies and theories. This includes my colleagues at Consumption Research Norway (SIFO), especially Arne Dulsrud. Lotte Holm, with whom I shared an office during the final months of writing this book, offered huge inspiration in bringing together ideas on temporal rhythms, practices and consumption. Our meandering conversations are a sharp reminder of the real pleasures of academic practice. I must also thank the excellent team at Palgrave, Phillipa Grande in the early days and Poppy Hull in recent years, all of whom have shown amazing patience and made the process of ‘getting the book done’ a pleasant experience. The statement that ‘this book would never have happened if it wasn’t for’ is often written in acknowledgements. In this case there are several people for whom this is undoubtedly the case. Alan Warde and Elizabeth Shove have offered inspiration, support and advice—telling me what I needed, as opposed to what I wanted, to hear. I will forever be grateful to Andrew McMeekin for his immeasurable support in listening, challenging and talking through many ideas only some of which can be found in the pages of this book. I want to especially thank Mark Tomlinson and Josephine Mylan, co-authors of studies that form an important part of Acknowledgements ix the empirical evidence that underpins this book and whose intellectual contributions cannot be understated. I owe a hefty debt of gratitude to David Evans and Jennifer Whillans, both of whom have collaborated on multiple research activities and whose approach to writing has informed my own. Together with Alan Warde they both read and offered invalu- able comments on a draft typescript of the book that significantly sharp- ened the articulation and clarified the flow of its argumentation. There are many friends and family members outside of academia who have shown interest and shared experiences from their own lives relevant to my thinking. It is however my partner Kerry for whom the final thank you must be reserved. Not just for the incredible patience and tolerance while I worked late or remained absorbed in ‘the book’, for the constant support and encouragement or for her capacity to help me put work into perspective during my ‘gloomier’ moments. Kerry’s contribution to dis- cussing and working through ideas, sharing her perspectives and experiences and in challenging my interpretations of everyday life have been crucial to the development of my writing at all stages. Contents 1 Introducing Time, Temporality and Societal Change 1 2 The Rise of the Clock: Time Discipline and Consumer Culture 25 3 T ime Scarcity: Work, Home and Personal Lives 43 4 T ime Pressure: Innovation, Acceleration and the Speeding-Up of Everyday Life 69 5 T emporalities of Harriedness 95 6 Past Times: The Contrasting Timings of Everyday Activities 125 7 Socio-Temporal Rhythms, Social Practices and Everyday Life 147 8 Conclusion: Time, Consumption and Societal Problems 177 xi