Time Use

Time use refers to the way in which persons spend their time. According to Eviatar Zerubavel, time use can be conceptualized in reference to [Page 1600]institutionalized structures such as time cycles needed to organize time and activities or life events. The duration of life events and their timing or repetitions are also measured using cycles: seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, years, and so on. Moreover, the day, the week, the year, and the life cycle seem to be the most important socially relevant cycles structuring activity patterns in modern Western cultures, noted Zerubavel. Furthermore, he adds, activities such as participating in sports, shopping, cleaning the house or other household tasks, and watching football, among others, are often done on specific days of the week. These ...