Public Life and Private Life: New Time Regimes

Résumé 0

Many studies have reported a recent densification of working hours in most developed countries. Several authors note a corresponding tendency in private life, especially due to the diffusion of NICTs, which accelerate communication. New time regimes at an individual level are therefore characterized by a rationalization of time: the optimization and intensification of the use of time are said to have become the essence of the organization of all our activities. In this article the author questions the assumptions behind this assertion. The spread of the densification of time from the professional towards the private sphere is far more marked in the upper classes than in other social categories, and tends to encounter resistance. Individuals and households articulate different time frames in their existence and use NICT to do so.