Domestic Technology

Paper Summary:

The paper argues that although technology has come a long way in the last century in increasing production and efficiency of household chores, technology has not saved time. The paper refers to six articles and explains that an increase in standards, families turning from units of production to units of consumption and a demand for higher quality results have not caused a significant decrease in the time utilized for housework chores.

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From the Paper:

"Through the advent of multiple forms of energy, increased domicile consumption, and a rise in standards of hygiene I intend to argue that though technology has come along way in the last century in increasing production and efficiency of the chore, technology has in fact done nothing to spare extra time. I will argue that because of the removal of some chores from the household and the introduction of others the appearance that time should have been saved is an inappropriate assumption. The correct deduction is to say that chores were made more efficient, requiring less people and work to complete, and the work now falls on a single person. Although, unfortunately, there is no scientific way to measure the burden of a task or conversely the easiness of one, this argument is always brought up when the time needed to complete a chore is measured."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Schwartz Cowan, Ruth. The "Industrial Revolution" in the Home: Household Technology and Social Change in the 20th Century. Technology and Culture, Vol. 17, No. 1. (Jan., 1976), pp. 1-23.
• Vanek, Joann. Household Technology and Social Status: Rising Living Standards and Status and Residence Differences in Housework. Technology and Culture, Vol. 19, No. 3. (Jul., 1978), pp. 361-375.
• Gershuny, Jonathan; Robinson, John P.. Historical Changes in the Household Division of Labor. Demography, Vol. 25, No. 4. (Nov., 1988), pp. 537-552.
• Bittman, Michael. Mahmud Rice, James. and Wajcman, Judy. Appliances and their impact: the ownership of domestic technology and time spent onhousehold work. The British Journal of Sociology 2004 Volume 55 Issue 3
• A. Thrall, Charles. The Conservative Use of Modern Household TechnologyTechnology and Culture, Vol. 23, No. 2. (Apr., 1982), pp. 175-194.

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