The Procrastination Economy: The Big Business of Downtime

Critics who are quick to lament people’s habits of “wasting” time on their phones are missing the point, argues Tussey, a Georgia State University assistant communication professor, in this engrossing study. The ubiquity of mobile content, he reminds entrepreneurs, has opened up a whole new opportunity to monetize “in-between” moments that occur between work and leisure. Mobile devices can act as a barrier to interaction in public and are therefore widely seen as a barrier to empathy and community. But this may be too simplistic a viewpoint, says Tussey, who sees smartphones and comparable products as enhancing preexisting behaviors rather than substantively changing them. Making better use of these in-between moments allows people to reassert the value of their own time, and understanding these small periods of time will help developers create “a defining logic that will most likely inform the design of future site-specific media technology.” Though sometimes dry in tone and academic in orientation, Tussey’s book is likely to strike a chord, not just with the intended readership of businesspeople but also with the many readers who see their smartphones and other mobile devices as a help, rather than hindrance, to their lives. He has crafted a thoughtful, if perhaps too finely targeted, approach to a pervasive aspect of modern life. (Feb.)