Moving forward, I principally draw on literature from science and technology studies—STS for short—which, for some time, has been urging a more nuanced understanding of the ways in which technology shapes time. Taking on this lens allows us to see that society is more than its technology, but also that technology is more than its equipment. In other words, the social world cannot be reduced to the technology that makes it up. However, this is not at all to diminish the role of technology—in fact, quite the opposite. It is only by paying attention to sociomaterial practices that we can begin to see the rich interplay of technology and society.
Such an approach necessarily questions all-embracing, linear narratives about everything speeding up, pointing instead to a more complex temporal patterning of experience. It requires us to pose questions, such as when, and where, people encounter accelerations (as well as decelerations) and what the consequences for the quality of our lives are.
Acceleration Society
Although acceleration itself is rarely regarded as the central topic for sociological analysis, it is ever present in theories of contemporary society. Physicists have clear ideas about what speed and velocity mean but, in describing human experiences of time in high-speed society, the term is used to refer to a variety of phenomena. This is particularly confusing, as time compression has multiple dimensions, so that while some aspects of life are accelerating, others may not be and could even be slowing down.
One notable exception is Hartmut Rosa, who examines in detail what it means to say that Western societies are acceleration societies. I find his definition, and the distinction he draws between diferent aspects of acceleration, helpful and have adopted it here.3
The first and most measurable form of acceleration is the speeding up of transport, communication, and production, which can be defined as technological acceleration. The second is the acceleration of social change, meaning that the rate of societal change is itself accelerating. The central idea here is that institutional stability (in the realms of the family and occupations, for example) is generally on the decline in late modern societies. The third process is the acceleration of the pace of life. It is the focus of much discussion about cultural acceleration and the alleged need for deceleration. The pace of (social) life refers to the speed and compression of actions and experiences in everyday life.
Hig h-Speed Society
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