Why Time Speeds Up and Slows Down

Time perception is a fundamental property of us humans. It can be described as the ability to record, estimate, and store durations of time. Briefly, it defines that the understanding of passing time is two dimensional. We observe time in two separate concepts: objective time and subjective time. To understand these two concepts, we should define them shortly. Objective time is based on external measures such as clocks and calendars. It is the time that has actually passed, and it does not change between individuals. Whereas subjective time, is more personal. It’s the time that we feel has passed and our way of mentally traveling through time. Since subjective time is a personal experience, it differs between everyone, and even in the same individual itself. The way we perceive time, continously changes. It is constantly affected by one’s mood, emotions, attention, memory, and many more aspects.

The way we feel passing time is mostly based on where and how much we are zoomed in on. Let’s take a look at the main factors that affect our perception of time, in short term. Emotions and attention influence time perception at the exact moment we’re experiencing them, so their effects on time perception are short termed besides still being noticeable. As studies highlight, when our attention is drawn to the external world, we feel as if time is flowing across. In contrast, when our attention turns towards time itself, passing time is perceived longer than it actually is. Boredom, worry, anticipation and craving are feelings that make us focus on the passing time, resulting in feeling like it’s going really slowly, while happy moments often feel short because attention is fully absorbed by the experience itself, leaving little awareness of time passing. This is also caused by the dopamine hormone’s property of speeding up our internal clock. As a result, enjoyment compresses time, while boredom expands it.

There are other factors that affect our time perception, on the long term. Our experiences and memories we make as we progress in our journey of life, influence almost every field of our lives including the way we see time. These experiences form in a longer time, resulting in continuous and cumulative effects. As people grow older, time seems to pass more quickly. That’s because of the weight of the memories they’ve made. In childhood, life is filled with new events, but our lives slowly turn into routines as we grow. When fewer new memories are formed, longer periods of time can feel shorter in retrospect.

In today’s world where new technologies and social media shape our lives, they certainly affect our perception of the world. Modern technology has transformed many aspects, including how we experience the passage of time. With social media completely invading daily life, we have all noticed how we get carried away by the virtual world, and completely forget how time passes. Social media deepens time distortion by constantly capturing attention. Top it all, scrolling in social media creates a state of deep focus where awareness of time fades. As a result, hours can pass without we even notice.

Overall, time perception is less about minutes and hours, and more about how moments are experienced. The human brain does not rely on one specific internal clock to track time. Different situations activate different systems in the brain, causing time to feel inconsistent. In fact, time itself remains constant, but our minds continuously reform it.