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Technology Is Speeding Up Your Perception of Time, Says Science

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The sensation of every year passing a little faster may be caused by technology, rather than just a downside of getting older, according to new research.

Constant use of gadgets such as smartphones is making people’s brains more efficient at processing information, tricking them into thinking that time is passing faster than it really is, according to one psychologist.

“I’ve found some indication that interacting with technology and technocentric societies has increased some type of pacemaker within us. While it might help us to work faster, it also makes us feel more pressured by time,” said James Cook University researcher Dr Aoife McLoughlin.

“As the speed of pace of life increases, the subjective feeling of available time decreases, causing a sense of time pressure within the individual,” she added.

The psychologist argues that there is genuine, quantitive evidence suggesting that people should turn off their mobiles and step away from the internet, calling it “a scientific reason to stop and smell the roses.”

She said that more research is needed to determine whether the ‘sped-up’ brain phenomenon is a positive or a negative side effect of technology.

McLoughlin explains that the perceived speeding up up of time could lead to stress and depression.

She suggests that “meditation and mindfulness” could help people that are feeling time-stressed to understand that ‘real’ is stable, and not really passing faster.

Image credit: Action Press/REX Shutterstock

H/T: Science Alert