The time of our lives: an investigation into the effects of technological advances on temporal experience.

Abstract

Previous research (Blatchley et al., 2007) investigating the relationship between timing accuracy and computer use highlighted a potential difference between individuals with high and low levels of computer usage. In order to further investigate this phenomenon the current research has built on research in the area of human time perception, modernity and technology acceptance and use. In order to quantify the level of information communication technology use in participants the Everyday Technology Use Questionnaire was developed. Five studies were then conducted in order to investigate the effects which use of these types of technologies may be having on subjective timing. The initial two studies conducted found that when split by technology use, participants gave significantly different responses on both interval production and duration estimation tasks overall. In order to further investigate evidence for a difference in the subjective timing of both groups two further studies were conducted. These examined the performance of participants on timing tasks when the number of available options and integration of sensory modalities were manipulated by the researcher. A final study was conducted exploring the behavioural priming effects of technology use. It was found that integrating the modalities of the stimulus that the participants engaged with, and also priming participants to think about advanced technologies or time management, elicited responses suggestive of an increase in the pace of subjective time.