Abstract
The time squeeze, captured in popular and academic debates as an experience of a shortage of time in which to conduct the activities that matter most to people, has become a pervasive concern of contemporary societies. This is sometimes presented as a matter of time scarcity that results from increasing demands on and opportunities for how we use time. Other accounts focus on processes of acceleration—the speeding-up of activities and capacity to do more of them simultaneously creates feelings of time pressure. Regardless of the emphasis, the experience of a time squeeze is associated with a wide range of social problems and is often identified as either a cause or barrier to their solution. This chapter provides a summary of the many ways in which the ‘time squeeze’ is associated with societal problems. It provides a summary of theories of time and how it relates to society before providing an overview of the content and core arguments contained within this book.
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Southerton, D. (2020). Introducing Time, Temporality and Societal Change. In: Time, Consumption and the Coordination of Everyday Life. Consumption and Public Life. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-60117-2_1
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