Everyday Life (Meaning and Explanation)

We explain what everyday life is, what elements make it up and its characteristics. Also, examples of everyday life situations.

everyday life examples — Everyday life encompasses endless actions that we perform automatically.

What is everyday life?

When we talk about everyday life or everyday life we are referring to the common and ordinary life of every day, the one in which, in theory, nothing special happens since the actions and events that take place at this time are considered mundane, inconsequential, common.

This is because the repetition of daily actions over the days and months generates in each individual a feeling of monotony and also of security, since they assume that nothing surprising will happen to them, for better or worse. However, everyday life It is not the same for all people, but depends on the way and conditions in which each individual lives so that what is natural and everyday for some, may be exceptional for others.

For example, the daily life of a child living on the Caribbean coast could be perceived as attractive and fun by a child from the Siberian steppe, and vice versa. But behind these types of comparisons lies a truth regarding human nature, and that is that we tend to take for granted what is familiar and everyday to us, and, at the same time, to idealize and desire what is foreign.

Most of our lives take place in what we call everyday life and it manifests itself in an endless number of actions that we carry out automatically, without perceiving them, but that ultimately define who we are and where we live. In fact, daily life in past times in history was very different from what we have today.

Features of everyday life

Everyday life is characterized by the following:

It is daily life, which repeats every day and in which nothing extraordinary usually happens.
It covers an immense set of family events and actions in which we do not usually go into detail, unless something happens that takes us out of context, such as personal hygiene, work or rest.
It is the daily space in which social relations occur the routine ties and in which the vast majority of life passes.
Generally refers to the daytime hours of the day and part of the nighttime hours. Usually daytime hours are considered work and active hours, and nighttime hours are considered pleasure and rest hours.
It is an important field of study for sociology and psychology since these disciplines see in the construction of daily life a reflection of the entire social system.

Examples of everyday life situations

Numerous ordinary situations take place in everyday life, which vary depending on the person and their historical, social, economic and cultural context. Broadly speaking, the daily life of a Western individual in the contemporary era encompasses situations such as the following:

Sleep and wake up and ideally wake up few (or not at all) times throughout the night.
Feed at least three times a day (breakfast, lunch, dinner). Drink, ideally, eight glasses of water a day.
Clean the body: brush your teeth after each meal, bathe once a day, relieve yourself and then wash your hands.
Work which can occur in very different ways, and is reserved for adults. Children and young people, on the other hand, ideally dedicate themselves to studying.
Take public transportation or use a private vehicle to travel from home to work or study.
Exchange goods and services that is, buying and selling things, which is necessary in the capitalist system to be able to carry out many other daily tasks.

Elements of everyday life

In daily life we interact with numerous physical, technological and other elements. Some of the most common in Western daily life are:

People like our family, friends, partners, acquaintances and co-workers, or like the people we see every day on the street and who we don't know.
Appliances such as washing machines, mixers, refrigerators, ovens, microwaves, televisions, irons, hair dryers, clothes dryers, dishwashers, shredders, among others.
Technological artifacts such as computers, smartphones, tablets, video game consoles, smart televisions, among others.
Air conditioning devices such as air conditioners, stoves, heaters, humidifiers, fans, among others.
Furniture such as tables, chairs, armchairs, sofas, beds, among others.
Personal hygiene objects and substances such as toothbrushes and toothpaste, towels, soap, shampoo, conditioner, moisturizing cream, toilet paper, the shower, the toilet, the bathtub, among others.
Vehicles such as cars and motorcycles, buses, trains, subways, trams or bicycles.
urban spaces such as our home, the street, the square, the train or subway station, the office, school, the schoolyard, the sports field, the gym, the bank, among many others.