Digitalization in Modern Society and Its Effects on Time Perception

Year 2025, Volume: 12 Issue: 1, 23 - 43, 30.04.2025

Ejder Çelik , Mümtaz Levent Akkol

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of digitalization on the perception of time in modern society. As technology evolves, individuals’ experiences of time are increasingly shaped by digital platforms, leading to a redefinition of time and space. Constant connectivity, facilitated by digital tools such as remote work and virtual communication, has blurred traditional temporal boundaries, posing challenges in managing work-life balance and mental health. Characterized by its fast pace and continuous nature, digital time can cause stress and temporal overload, especially as the demands for constant availability increase. The research highlights the societal changes caused by digitalization and its effects on human well-being. It addresses the consequences of virtual existence, where physical proximity is no longer necessary for interaction, but demands to be sensitive in different time zones create temporal disorientation. By contributing to the discourse of digital transformation, the study tries to lay the groundwork for the formation of different perspectives on how societies can adapt to the challenges brought by digitalization while maintaining balance. It also seeks to understand how digital time affects individuals and what issues need to be addressed so that these changes can be achieved for a healthier, more sustainable future.

Keywords

Digital transformation , time management , temporal overload , work-life balance

Modern Toplumda Dijitalleşme ve Zaman Algısı Üzerindeki Etkileri

Abstract

Bu çalışma, dijitalleşmenin modern toplumda zaman algısı üzerindeki etkisini araştırmaktadır. Teknoloji geliştikçe, bireylerin zaman deneyimleri dijital platformlar tarafından giderek daha fazla şekillendirilmekte ve bu da zaman ve mekânın yeniden tanımlanmasına yol açmaktadır. Uzaktan çalışma ve sanal iletişim gibi dijital araçların kolaylaştırdığı sürekli bağlantı, geleneksel zaman kabullerini geçersiz hâle getirerek iş-yaşam dengesini ve ruh sağlığını yönetmede zorluklar ortaya çıkarmıştır. Hızlı temposu ve sürekli doğası ile karakterize edilen dijital zaman, özellikle sürekli ulaşılabilir olma talepleri arttıkça strese ve zamansal aşırı yüklenmeye neden olabilmektedir. Araştırma, dijitalleşmenin yol açtığı toplumsal değişimleri ve bunun insan refahı üzerindeki etkilerini vurgulamaktadır. Fiziksel yakınlığın artık etkileşim için gerekli olmadığını, ancak farklı zaman dilimlerinde duyarlı olma taleplerinin zamansal yönelim bozukluğu yarattığını ve sanal varlığın sonuçlarını ele almaktadır. Çalışma, dijital dönüşüm söylemine katkıda bulunarak, toplumların dengeyi korurken dijitalleşmenin getirdiği zorluklara nasıl uyum sağlayabileceklerine dair farklı bakış açılarının oluşmasına zemin hazırlamaya çalışmaktadır. Ayrıca, dijital zamanın bireyleri nasıl etkilediğini ve daha sağlıklı, daha sürdürülebilir bir gelecek için bu değişikliklerin gerçekleştirilebilmesi adına hangi sorunların giderilmesi gerektiğini anlamaya çalışmaktadır.

Keywords

Dijital dönüşüm , zaman yönetimi , zamansal aşırı yük , iş-yaşam dengesi

References

• Achor, S. (2010). The happiness advantage: The seven principles of positive psychology that fuel success and performance at work. New York, NY: Crown Business.
• Aydın, B., and Karademir, B. (2019a). Digitalization and time-space perception: A sociological analysis. Journal of Digital Culture, 30(2), 155-170.
• Aydın, B., and Karademir, B. (2019b). Global synchronization and local rhythms: A study on the digitalization of time in Turkey. Journal of Digital Culture, 24(3), 102-118.
• Bates, T. (2015). Teaching in a digital age: Guidelines for designing teaching and learning. Vancouver Canada: Tony Bates Associates.
• Bauman, Z. (2000). Liquid modernity. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press.
• Bergstrom, T. (2019). The impact of digital media on time management. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
• Brynjolfsson, E., and McAfee, A. (2022). The second machine age: Work, progress, and prosperity in a time of brilliant technologies. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company.
• Carr, N. (2011). The shallows: What the Internet is doing to our brains. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company.
• Castells, M. (2010). The rise of the network society. Oxford, UK: Wiley-Blackwell.
• Chen, Y. (2022). Artificial intelligence in productivity applications: A future perspective. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
• Couldry, N., and Mejias, U. A. (2019). The costs of connection: How data is colonizing human life and appropriating it for capitalism. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
• Crary, J. (2014). 24/7: Late capitalism and the ends of sleep. London, UK: Verso Books.
• Çalışkan, M., & Yılmaz, M. (2020). Dijital çağda iş ve özel yaşamın sınırları: Sosyal medya ve zaman yönetimi. İletişim Araştırmaları Dergisi, 15(2), 145-162.
• Çelik, E. ve Babaoğlan, E. (2024). Michel Foucault’da iktidar–disiplin ilişkisi ve zamansallaştırma. Anadolu Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, 24(4), 1793-1814.
• Davidson, J. (2019). Scheduling in the digital age: How technology shapes our time. Abingdon, UK: Routledge.
• Davies, W. (2021). The happiness industry: How the government and big business sold us well-being. London, UK: Verso Books.
• Garde-Hansen, J. (2011). Media and memory. Edinburgh, UK: Edinburgh University Press.
• Gergen, K. J. (2002). The saturated self: Dilemmas of identity in contemporary life. New York, NY: Basic Books.
• Gershon, I. (2021). Efficiency and digital labor: Redefining work-life balance. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
• Giddens, A. (1990). The consequences of modernity. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
• Gillespie, T. (2021). Platform politics: The transformative impact of social media. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
• Harris, C. (2017). Digital detox: Reclaiming your time in a connected world. New York, NY: Penguin Press.
• Harvey, D. (1990). The condition of postmodernity: An enquiry into the origins of cultural change. Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishers.
• Hassan, R. (2017). The conditioned self: Capitalism and the making of mankind. London, UK: Routledge.
• Hassan, R. (2020). The age of distraction: Reading, writing, and politics in a high-speed networked economy. London, UK: Routledge.
• Hassan, R. (2021a). Digitality, virtuality, and social structure. Abingdon, UK: Routledge.
• Hassan, R. (2021b). The tyranny of digital time: The psychological effects of hyper-connectivity. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press.
• Hochschild, A. R. (2012). The time bind: When work becomes home and home becomes work. New York, NY: Metropolitan Books.
• Hoskins, A. (2018). Digital memory studies: Media pasts in transition. London, UK: Routledge.
• Kahneman, D. (2018). Thinking, fast and slow. New York, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
• Kohn, M. (2021). The fragmented self: Social media and the crisis of time. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
• Korunka, C. (2019). The impact of digitalization on work-life balance: Temporal fragmentation in the global economy. International Journal of Time Use Research, 5(1), 20-34.
• Lash, S. (2015). Digital communication and the transformation of time perception. Abingdon, UK: Routledge. Maslach, C., and Leiter, M. P. (2016). Burnout: The cost of caring. Malor Books.
• Mazmanian, M., Orlikowski, W. J., and Yates, J. (2013). The autonomy paradox: The implications of mobile email devices for knowledge professionals. Organization Science, 24(5), 1337–1357.
• McEwen, B. S. (2020). Neuroscience of stress and time management. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
• McMillan, S. J., and Morrison, M. (2019). The impact of social media on work-life balance. Journal of Media Studies, 14(3), 45-59.
• Meyer, D., and Salovey, P. (1997). Emotional intelligence and its implications for the workplace. In P. Salovey & D. J. Mayer (Eds.), Emotional development and emotional intelligence: Educational implications (pp. 161-178). New York, NY: HarperCollins.
• Meyer, K. (2020). Digital distractions: Time and attention in the age of social media. Abingdon, UK: Routledge.
• Newport, C. (2016). Deep work: Rules for focused success in a distracted world. New York, NY: Grand Central Publishing. Nicholas Carr, N. (2011). The shallows: What the Internet is doing to our brains. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company.
• Ophir, E., Nass, C., and Wagner, A. D. (2009). Cognitive control in media multitaskers. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 106(37), 15583–15587. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0903620106
• Peters, J., and Moore, C. (2019). Always on: The impact of digital work culture. London, UK: Bloomsbury Publishing.
• Pink, D. H. (2019). Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us. New York, NY: Riverhead Books.
• Postman, N. (1993). Technopoly: The surrender of culture to technology. New York, NY: Vintage Books.
• Prensky, M. (2014). The digital game-based learning revolution. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
• Robinson, J., & Godbey, G. (2019). Time for life: The surprising ways Americans use their time. University Park, PA: Penn State University Press.
• Rosa, H. (2013). Social acceleration: A new theory of modernity. New York, NY: Columbia University Press.
• Rosen, L. D. (2020). The distracted mind: Ancient brains in a high-tech world. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
• Rosenberg, D. (2016). Digital platforms and the future of global work. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
• Rushkoff, D. (2013). Present shock: When everything happens now. New York, NY: Penguin Press.
• Ryan, R. M., and Deci, E. L. (2021). Self-determination theory: Basic psychological needs in motivation, development, and wellness. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
• Schulz, P. J., and Robinson, M. D. (2019). Temporal fragmentation in digital communication. New Media & Society, 21(4), 816–833.
• Schwartz, B. (2018). The paradox of choice: Why more is less. New York, NY: HarperCollins.
• Selwyn, N. (2021). Education and technology: Key issues and debates. London, UK: Bloomsbury Publishing.
• Sennett, R. (1998). The corrosion of character: The personal consequences of work in the new capitalism. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company.
• Standage, T. (2020). The writing of the gods: The race to decode the Rosetta Stone. New York, NY: Bloomsbury Publishing.
• Sullivan, C. (2020). Flexible working and digital tools: The future of work-life balance. London, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.
• Turkle, S. (2017). Reclaiming conversation: The power of talk in a digital age. New York, NY: Penguin Press.
• Turner, F. (2021). Digital time and social interactions: A critical perspective. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
• Türkay, S., and Bıçakcı, H. (2017). The impact of digital communication on social interaction in the workplace. Journal of Digital Communication, 14(1), 45-59.
• Van Dijck, J. (2013). The culture of connectivity: A critical history of social media. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Wajcman, J. (2015). Pressed for time: The acceleration of life in digital capitalism. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
• Yılmaz, M. ve Çalışkan, M. (2020). Dijitalleşmenin iş dünyasındaki zaman yönetimine etkileri. İşletme Araştırmaları Dergisi, 20(1), 75-92.
• Zohar, D. (2020). Global time and digital transformation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Zuboff, S. (2019). The age of surveillance capitalism: The fight for a human future at the new frontier of power. New York: PublicAffairs.