2018 Outstanding Academic Title, given by Choice Magazine
**
How mobile devices make our in-between moments valuable to media
companies while also providing a sense of control and connection**
In moments of downtime - waiting for a friend to arrive or commuting to
work - we pull out our phones for a few minutes of distraction. Just as
television reoriented the way we think about living rooms, mobile
devices have taken over the interstitial spaces of our everyday lives.
Ethan Tussey argues that these in-between moments have created a
procrastination economy, an opportunity for entertainment companies to
create products, apps, platforms, subscription services, micropayments,
and interactive opportunities that can colonize our everyday lives.
But as businesses commoditize our free time, and mobile devices become
essential tools for promotion, branding and distribution, consumers are
using these devices as a means of navigating public and private space.
These devices are not just changing the way we spend and value our time,
but also how we interact with others and transform our sense of the
politics of space.
By examining the four main locations of the procrastination economy--the
workplace, the commute, the waiting room, and the "connected" living
room--Ethan Tussey illuminates the relationship between the
entertainment industry and the digitally empowered public.
