Chapter One High-Speed Society
Is the Pace of Life Accelerating?
Any attempt to make sense of the human condition at the
start of the new century must begin with the analysis of the social experience of speed.
William Scheuerman, Liberal Democracy and the Social Acceleration of Time
The relative speed of society has long been seen as one of its essential characteristics. Many of the inventions that are considered pivotal to progress, from the wheel to the microchip, have been designed to enable us to go faster. Yet it is in diagnoses of our contemporary times that acceleration features most prominently. Time-space compression, the idea that technologies have dramatically telescoped temporal and spatial distances, is a constant motif, as is the notion that economic, social, and cultural change is much more rapid than in previous eras. Things seem to happen at a relentless pace, imbuing us with a diferent sense of time.
According to the dominant narrative, our ubiquitous experience of busyness makes perfect sense as we inhabit a high-speed society. Our age is obsessed with speed: faster cars, faster trains, faster broadband, even speed dating. Speed is sexy, and digital devices are constantly sold to us as eficient, time-saving tools that promote an exciting, action-packed lifestyle. Nowhere is this more apparent than in iPhone’s Siri software, which allows you to “use your voice to send messages, schedule meetings, place phone calls, and more,” while, the advertisement suggests, driving or exercising. Similarly, self-logging wristbands that track everything from heart rates and sleep patterns to mood fluctuations are marketed for a busy life on the move.
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