The Immutable Nature of Time: Individual Perception Dictates Whether it Passes Swiftly or Slowly

In the rush of everyday life, the routine becomes a succession of events: waking up, working, lunch, working, dinner and sleeping, which leaves little space for breaks or other activities. It’s common to hear people complain that time is passing too quickly. On the other hand, there are those who complain that time is too slow, dragging on. What actually happens?

According to Rafael Samhan Martins, physics professor at Colégio Liceu Albert Sabin, in Ribeirão Preto, the feeling of speed or slowness of time is associated with the concentration and satisfaction experienced when carrying out everyday activities. “When we are involved in activities that require our full attention, such as watching a movie or carrying out complex tasks, time dilates. We divert our concentration and don’t notice time passing, resulting in an experience that seems to last only a few minutes.”

Counterpoint occurs in boring or isopolar situations, in which the constant looking at the clock creates the sensation that time stretches indefinitely. “You keep thinking about time, then it starts to ‘pass more slowly’, because you are noticing it”, explains the physicist.

Temporal perception

But what is temporal perception? For Deusivania Falcão, professor of gerontology at USP’s School of Arts, Sciences and Humanities (EACH), the concept of temporal perception is the interaction of biopsychosocial, historical and cultural factors, such as the birth of a loved one, a wedding, a graduation or personal achievements. 

“These events exert a significant influence on the construction of the global perception of time. In this context, mental and emotional health plays a crucial role in the way time perception manifests itself”, analyzes the expert.

And, although the perception of time is unique for each individual, Deusivania explains that there are nuances and similarities in temporal perception between different age groups. And, according to the expert, the feeling of clock speed is felt especially by the elderly. 

She explains: Children and teenagers tend to perceive time as passing more slowly, possibly due to constant novelty, learning experiences and exploration. “I remember, when I was a child, I looked at an older person and said: ‘Wow, it’s going to be a long time before I reach that age’. I really thought time took longer, my day was longer.”

In old age, the expert points out that the perception of time is the result of a combination of psychological, social and biological factors, such as changes in cognition, declines in memory and information processing capacity, which influence how events are recorded and perceived, contributing to the feeling that time is passing faster, as experiences may not be retained in detail.

Social Clock

The teacher also introduces the concept of Social Clock , developed by American psychologist Bernice Neogarten, which explores how social norms and expectations shape our perception of time. 

“Societies establish norms and expectations regarding different stages of life. This affects the perception of time, as people internalize these norms and use them to assess whether they are following a socially expected schedule,” she explains.

But the fact is that time, in itself, is not speeding up, “it is a perception, and every perception can be mistaken, since it is possible to be interpreting something that does not correspond to reality”, says Samhan. 

The professor illustrates the relativity of time with a quote from Einstein: “A minute on hot coals can seem like an eternity, while a minute close to a loved one can seem ephemeral”. 

He also explains why time does not change when based on classical physics: “Time is considered an absolute quantity, with both time and space seen as absolute and invariable by Newton and Galileo”.

For them, time is defined as the repetition interval between two events, such as the concept of year, which represents the cyclical repetition of seasons. “With four seasons marking this variation, we can consider the passage of a certain time as the completion of a specific cycle”, he explains.