Is a Slower Life a Pathway to Sustainable Lifestyles?
Experiences from the Pandemic
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Abstract
The restricted mobility and homebody life people experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic implied a dramatic change of the time–space configuration in everyday life. Based on a qualitative interview study with 35 participants in Ireland and Sweden, this article presents theoretical perspectives and empirical illustrations on how changes in the sociotemporal rhythms in everyday life can shape conditions for making people's lifestyles more environmentally sustainable. Its findings suggest that the experience of a slower tempo can contribute to how people reflect on and engage in more sustainable practices, but they also reveal that people can have ambiguous and differentiated positive and negative experiences of time, and that said experience was often perceived as a temporary break rather than a lasting change. The article contributes by offering a nuanced understanding of the promises of slowing down as a way to encourage sustainable consumption.
Contributor Notes
Magnus Boström is Professor of Sociology at Örebro University, Sweden, with a particular research interest in environmental sociology and the sociology of consumption. His research interests include politics, representation, consumption, action, and transformative learning in relation to various transnational environmental and sustainability issues. He is currently engaged in research on social drivers behind unsustainable mass/excess consumption. A related research interest is how people can be motivated in different ways to change their lifestyle, reduce their consumption, and develop more collective ways of sharing resources. Email: magnus.bostrom@oru.se
Lina Sandström holds a PhD in sociology and is a Researcher in Sociology at Örebro University and University of Gothenburg, Sweden. Her main research interest lies in exploring various forms of inequalities. Her doctoral thesis explored the impact of housing inequalities on the integration of asylum-seekers. More recent projects have examined gender inequalities in the division of unpaid labor and the unequal effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. She is currently working on a project that generates knowledge on behavioral change for an inclusive and equal European Green Deal. Email: lina.sandstrom@oru.se