Time, Television, and the Decline of DIY

Abstract

ABSTRACTWhilst it can be argued that home improvements are cyclical and largely informed by the “wealth effect” as a function of the state of the housing market, this article turns its attention to homeowners and their participation in such activities. In particular it provides evidence of a progressive decline across the last decade in do-it-yourself (DIY) activity independent of fluctuations in house prices. Through an examination of the concept of “time compression” the choice and selection of leisure activities, of which DIY was once a considered option, is identified as subject to heightened competition, with preference given to those that supply an immediate sense of gratification. As a consequence of this, the “cash-rich time-poor” increasingly turn to tradesmen to realize their visions of domestic transformation, more interested in outcome than process; acceptability over authenticity. Furthermore, such changes in the temporal register also inform the search for and production of innovative television program formats that seek both to inspire and entertain. Consequently, this article argues, such programs deny the possibility of knowledge transfer for those still wishing to engage in DIY and subsequently force homeowners into being consumers rather than producers of their own material worlds.