Time for Life: The Surprising Ways Americans Use Their Time

John Robinson, Geoffrey Godbey

Penn State Press, 2010 - Social Science - 392 pages

Is it possible that Americans have more free time than they did thirty years ago? While few may believe it, research based on careful records of how we actually spend our time shows that we average more than an hour more free time per day than in the 1960s. Time-use experts John P. Robinson and Geoffrey Godbey received national attention when their controversial findings were first published in 1997. Now the book is updated, with a new chapter that includes results of the 1995&–1997 data from the Americans' Use of Time Project.

&“Time for Life, an outstanding work of scholarship that manages to be highly readable, demands the attention of everyone interested in what&’s happening in today&’s society.&” &—Edward Cornish, The Futurist

&“Time for Life . . . is excellent fodder for lively classroom discussions, not only about family time use, but about the ontological and epistemological assumptions in the prevailing post-positivist paradigm of family science.&” &—Alan J. Hawkins and Jeffrey Hill, Journal of Marriage and the Family

&“Regardless of where you stand on this issue, Robinson and Godbey's arguments and data make for very interesting reading and open a cultural window on American society. . . . This is a piece of scholarship that should be read and its conclusions contemplated by people well outside the readership of this journal. . . . Time for Life is good social science research that should appeal to a broad audience.&” &—Journal of Communication

Contents

• Introduction and Methods 1 The Use of Time: 3
• TimeDeepening: 24
• Interpreting the Time Famine: 43
• Measuring How People Spend Time: 57
• Activity Codes for 1975 and 1985 National Studies: 70
• Work and Other Obligations 5 The Overestimated Workweek and Trends in Hours at Work: 81
• Trends in Average Hours Spent at Paid Work: 95
• Trends in Housework and Family Care: 97
• Trends in Family Care: 105
• Trends in Total Productive Activity: 108
• Trends in Personal Care and Travel: 110
• Trends in Personal Care and Travel: 112
• Free Time 8 Trends in Free Time 19651985: 123
• Trends in Free Time: 126
• Differences in Free Time by Background Factors: 128
• Trends in Television Time and Other Media: 136
• Differences in Activities of TV Owners and Nonowners: 140
• Trends in TV and Other Media Time: 145
• Differences in TV Time by Background Factors: 146
• Home Computers and Use of Time: 154
• Mass Media Use and Use of Home Computers Yesterday: 161
• Mass Media Use and LongerTerm Use of Home Computers 1995: 162
• Social Capital and the Rest of Free Time: 167
• Trends in Social Capital and Other FreeTime Activities: 170
• Trends in Social Capital Activities for Matched Samples: 176
• Trends in Arts Participation: 179
• Trends in Fitness and Exercise Activities: 183
• The Demographics of Time Use 12 Background Predictors of Time Use: 189
• Summary Correlations of Background Factors and Activities: 190
• Toward an Androgynous Society: 197
• Ratio of Mens to Womens Time on Various Activities Across Time: 199
• Widening Age Gaps in Time Use: 205
• Comparisons of 19891990: 211
• Status and Racial Differences in Time Use: 216
• Trends in Various Activities by Race: 223
• Subjective Time: 229
• Perceptions of Feeling Rushed: 232
• Differences in Stress by Background Factors and Year: 234
• Items on the Time Crunch Scale and Scale Correlates: 237
• Differences in Activity Enjoyment Ratings: 243
• The Results from Inputs of Time: 252
• CrossNational Differences in Time Use 1965: 262
• Japan and the United States: 265
• Only Time Will Tell: 287
• Brother Can You Spare Some Time?: 303
• A Activity Differences Between 1965 1975 and 1985: 321
• H Proportionate Time Spent on Various Aspects of Household: 334
• References: 347

About the author

John P. Robinson is Professor of Sociology and Director of the Americans' Use of Time Project at the Survey Research Center at the University of Maryland. He is the senior author of several books dealing with the use of time and the quality of life, including The Rhythm of Everyday Life: How Soviet and American Citizens Use Time (1988) and How Americans Use Time (1977).

Geoffrey Godbey is Professor of Leisure Studies at Penn State University. His most recent book is Leisure in Your Life: An Exploration, 5th Edition (1999).

Bibliographic information

• Title: Time for Life: The Surprising Ways Americans Use Their Time
• Authors: John Robinson, Geoffrey Godbey
• Publisher: Penn State Press, 2010
• ISBN: 027103985X, 9780271039855
• Length: 392 pages
• Subjects: History / United States / General; Social Science / Sociology / General; Social Science / Statistics