Pressed for Time by Judy Wajcman
The technologically tethered, iPhone-addicted figure is an image we can easily conjure. Most of us complain that there aren't enough hours in the day and too many e-mails in our thumb-accessible inboxes. This widespread perception that life is faster than it used to be is now ingrained in our culture, and smartphones and the Internet are continually being blamed. But isn't the sole purpose of the smartphone to give us such quick access to people and information that we'll be free to do other things? Isn't technology supposed to make our lives easier? In Pressed for Time, Judy Wajcman lets technology off the hook, arguing that it does not simply cause time pressure or the inexorable acceleration of everyday life. She argues that the very same devices that make us feel harried also enable us to take more control of our time and can enrich our relationships. We are not mere hostages to communications technologies, and the experience of always being rushed is the result of the priorities and parameters we ourselves set rather than the machines that help us set them. Indeed, being busy and having action-packed lives has become valorized by our culture. Wajcman offers a bracing historical perspective, exploring the commodification of clock time, and how the speed of the industrial age became identified with progress. She also delves into the ways time-use differs for diverse groups in modern societies, showing how changes in work patterns, family arrangements, and parenting all affect time stress. Bringing together empirical research on time use and theoretical debates about dramatic digital developments, this accessible and engaging book will leave readers better versed in how to use technology to navigate life's fast lane.
"Across her books, Wajcman has chosen issues and problematics that needed to be addressed, examined, and re-interpretedAll her books share an intense engagement with major conditions that affect many of us. In this book she gives us her kind of analysis of time - its presences and absences, its visible and invisible vectors." -Saskia Sassen, author of Expulsions: Brutality and Complexity in the Global Economy
Judy Wajcman is the Anthony Giddens Professor of Sociology at the London School of Economics and the author of The Social Shaping of Technology, TechnoFeminism, and The Politics of Working Life.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780226196473 |
| ISBN 10 | 022619647X |
| Title | Pressed for Time |
| Author | Judy Wajcman |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | The University of Chicago Press |
| Year published | 2014-12-01 |
| Number of pages | 224 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |