What We Really Do All Day

Helen Pearson at Literary Review:

The authors find little proof of increasing busyness among the population. Yes, as expected, people were spending far more time on digital devices in 2015 than they were in 2000. But the data provides little evidence that people now spend more time multitasking or that they’re switching more often from one activity to another, which might make our time seem fragmented and frantic.

The perception that we’re all super busy might have grown, the authors say, because of the way that certain subgroups of the population who have seen an increase in their workloads – those who are highly educated, in higher-status jobs and in dual-career households with small children – are more likely to have an influential voice in society and the media and so might have helped to create an impression that everyone is now busier.

more here.