Increased Speed

Speed creates slowness. It is only in contrast, to a newer, quicker speed, that existing speeds are perceived as being inadequately slow. Slowness was desired and sought out when it ceased to be the only option. It’s favourable, in that it provides people a greater duration for which to experience life and particular moments. It has become a countermovement to the rapid lifestyle that is demanded of us.   

 

The Paradox of the Smart Phone.

Smart Phones allow us to save time with their infinite apps and features. Conversely, they also manage to consume our time endlessly with other features we never used to interact with such as Facebook and mobile games. The smartphone also encourages instant responses to email and reminds users of the immediacy of work. Workers are unable to remove themselves from the work sphere or the potential of it interfering with social or leisure time. As ease of access increases, so too does the expectation of quicker responses to emails and messages.

The same pressures apply to our increased use of laptops and their potential to keep us continuously connected to work. Cloud storage and online documents ensure that work can constantly be accessed in its decentralised nature. Work now has the potential to be connected to from numerous devices, regardless of geographic location. Similarly, notifications remind us of progress to documents or changes to cloud storage. Now multiple people are able to work simultaneously on same document, collaboratively contributing and editing. No longer is creation of content staggered, with specific aspects handled by an equally specific person or team. Instead collaboration is more holistic with various individuals contributing to various stages of production/work.      

Deadlines

With quicker and more sophisticated technology also comes tighter work deadlines. Often these deadlines are near impossible and to be meet them requires rejection of leisure and sleep.  The constant presence of deadlines and our inability to meet them lends itself to people ignoring them until the very last minute. Preferencing working in adrenaline fuelled bursts of creation. Another aspect of the ever constant deadline is that rather than having designated work time we now integrate work into our weekends and social time. Work and social life have blended and now coexist. Deadlines now transcend the work or educational environment, eating into our own time due to the technology that keeps us connected.