The results of a study, in which researchers from the Polytechnic University of Madrid and the University of Alicante have participated, confirm a clear global pattern towards a less dynamic lifestyle around the world since the 1960s.
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According to the responses of millions of people in the countries for which data are available, lifestyles around the world since the 1960s have become less and less dynamic. This is the main conclusion of research with worldwide data from time-use surveys in which scientists from the Polytechnic University of Madrid (UPM) and the University of Alicante (UA) have participated.
These experts have developed the Lifestyle Dynamics Index® (abbreviated as LDI), a novel index that captures lifestyle dynamics based on activity information provided by daily uses of time.
“From the results, the trend shown by the UK, the Netherlands, Spain and especially the US is that there is evidence in favour of lower lifestyle dynamics worldwide. This means that, since the 1960s, an individual appears to be doing less activity and more repeated routines in daily activities,” they say in a UfM statement.
The Lifestyle Dynamics Index could be an effective tool for relevant socio-economic decision-making. This term has been used in connection with family and environmental studies and refers to how it evolves over time, whereas lifestyle is how we refer to the way people live. It also shows socio-economic and household implications, as well as effects on public health or household energy consumption.
From the quietest day to the most chaotic day
In the study, published in the journal Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, the novel LDI index was applied to the contents of the Multinational Time Use Study (MTUS) and the American Time Use Survey (ATUS).
The index ranks activities on a scale of 0 to 100, where 0 is a lifestyle where only one activity is done all day, and 100 is where all activities are done. Specifically, it tells us the position in order of an average day within a country: from the quietest day to the most chaotic day possible.
“Spain only has two national and official time-use surveys, and does not collect time-use data from 2008 to 2009,” says Raúl G. Sanchis, the UPM researcher who participated in the study. “As more time-use survey data are published worldwide, the potential use of the Lifestyle Dynamics Index for socio-economic policy and welfare purposes can be better exploited,” he concludes.
The paper analyses the case of the USA because it is the only country in the world that officially collects statistical data annually through the ATUS. In the 21st century, the US also shows a general decline in the index in the decade from 2003 to 2012, with an annual drop from 2008 onwards.