Food, Home and Style

The Book Reporter: Elsewhere, U.S.A.

Having a job in today’s economy feels lucky, but the pressure’s on to keep up a relentless pace. In his new book, Elsewhere, U.S.A., social scientist and NYU professor Dalton Conley shines a light on the hyperconnected, telecommuting, multitasking, 24/7 world that keeps us running to catch up with the last email, glued to our gadgets for fear of incurring “opportunity cost.” This linked-in dynamic means that for the first time in history, “the more we are paid, the more hours we work.” Dalton articulates the frustration of today’s workers, who literally risk their lives checking BlackBerries as we drive and cross the street, pinged incessantly by co-workers and bosses who measure productivity by the number of sent emails. The important work of processing, reflecting, and thinking is something that we feel we can’t afford. And leisure? Forget it. That’s something for the poor.

We live in a twilight world of “Elsewhere” because we’re never fully present in our lives – always speeding ahead to the next destination, the next virtual portal, the next chance for success. At the same time, Conley notes that the pendulum may be swinging – there are only so many hours in a day, and so many emails one can answer. When productivity finally tips over into paralysis, we will find better ways of working, communicating, and blending the different spheres of our lives. We just have to make sure we don’t get run over by a taxi before the new era arrives.

Tags: connectivity, multitasking, social science