Streaming Media

Abstract

Digital technologies such as the mobile phone, the Internet, and personal computers gained widespread adoption over the past 20 year especially in post-industrial societies gearing up towards production in a knowledge-based economy. However, how have individuals use such advances in technology to control their time better, and increase the value of their time? That is the central question of this Independent Study. With temporal welfare providing a grounding concept as to why societies should care about how individuals allocate their limited resource of time, the paper also questions the ideological backdrop of capitalism, globalization, and neoliberalization that have allowed the rise of digital technologies in our lives. Through understanding the choices individuals make using digital technologies through a neo-classical economic framework, a Marxist economic framework, and a sociological Habitus framework, this paper is armed to tease out the complications of digital technologies as a subject matter. Finally, through the use of the U.K. Workplace Employee Survey data, an econometric analysis was performed to plot the changes in the attitudinal characteristics of workers across three technological transitions. This paper found that workers in the U.K. are working less hours in 2011 than in 1998, knowledge workers work fewer hours than non-knowledge workers. Also, digital technologies can account for some of the variance of various attitudinal feelings about work pace and control over work performed across the three technological transitions, but there are larger factors at play that have aligned workers overall feelings towards the pace of work and control over work done prior to the digital age.

Advisor

Tierney, Thomas

Second Advisor

Mellizo, Philip

Department

Economics; Sociology and Anthropology

Disciplines

Labor Economics | Work, Economy and Organizations

Publication Date

2015

Degree Granted

Bachelor of Arts

Document Type

Senior Independent Study Thesis

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© Copyright 2015 John Wu