We've all experienced this strange phenomenon. When we were children a year seemed like an eternity, weeks were long and memorable and summers were a lifetime of sunshine and school-less paradise. But As we get older time seems to speed up. Years pass in what seems like a blink of an eye and summers seem like a race against the clock. Why is this? Is it simply because we have busier lives and our concept of time or "free-time" more specifically has been distorted? Or is it because as we've gotten older our daily routines have become much more consistent and monotous? Does time seem to be going faster because at we aren't discovering the world anymore? Is time passing by because our lives are becoming more consistent day-to-day and we simply don't experience enough memorable moments anymore that would give us better persective of time going by? i.e. If you did 7 memorable things everyday over a week would we have better scope of how long a week actually was?
2006-09-22 02:16:24 · 22 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Other - Society & Culture
Perspective.
When you are five years old, you've only lived five years. Five years is your entire life. A month is a 60th of your life.
For a five year old, time seems slower than what it really is because he hasn't been around for much time. A year is eternal, simply because he can only remember five of them. It's a fifth of his life.
As we get older, our perspective of the world broadens. Birthdays become more common, they are not "the greatest thing ever" anymore, because we've seen many of them. Years become a common thing. For a fourty-year old, a year is only the 40th part of his life. It does not seem that much time when compared when all the time he can remember he's been around.
It's a very saddening psychological effect of life. The more memories we have, the faster time seems to pass.
The trick is to slow down and try to enjoy every second.
2006-09-22 02:25:34 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 7⤊ 0⤋
Because you have more stored life experiences. For a child, everything is new and unique. We absorb 10 megabytes of data per second. That begins when we turn 2. do the calculations of how much data has been stored by a child of ten compared to someone my age, at 50. By this point in life, I've seen a great deal, so my brain ignores repetitive items, such as what is along the street between here and and the corner. A child looks at everything between here and the corner. Other things can affect our perception of time. When I was injured in a semi truck wreck, I felt it was only minutes until paramedics arrived, but the closest fire station was 60 miles away.
2006-09-22 02:25:04 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The answer is simple I'm sure you've heard the term, time is relative.
Well it is the younger and so quicker you move, the slower is your perception of time passing.
And not surprisingly as you age and so slow down times seems to speed up.
If you doubt the validity of this, look at the animal kingdom. Those animals which are small and live life at a speed, always have short life spans.
When as those creatures which tend to be larger and more ponderous live quite lengthy lifetimes.
It's better to be the elephant than the mayfly.
2006-09-22 02:25:12 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
When you are a young child time seems to pass very slowly.. a summer is a significant percentage of your total life.
As you get older life has more monotony and routine, you have less time off and spend more time working and getting prepared for work.... this drudgery is simply punctuated by periods of holidays and weekends, so time seems to pass much more quickly.
It's all down to perception.. best to live in the moment and cherish the good times.
2006-09-22 02:49:56 · answer #4 · answered by tattooed.dragon 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
its our perception of time When we are 10 years it is a whole lifetime and time is slow. When we are 20 we find that 10 years is not so long because its only half our life and when we reach 40 its a quarter so the time span is shorter and its getting shorter all the time.
2006-09-22 02:28:09 · answer #5 · answered by Daddybear 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm not sure but a teacher at my school used an analogy to describe it. He said life was like a ball of string being unwound, each revolution of the ball is on year to begin it has long revolutions but towards the end they get quicker and quicker. Not an explanation I know but I thought it was good!
2006-09-22 02:20:41 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
I used to think it was because I couldn't tell the time when I was a child and now I can maybe that has something to do with it, but I have to hold with the saying that 'time flies when your having fun', cause if it flies any quicker because of my age I will be depressed.
2006-09-22 02:32:34 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
We become increasingly aware of our mortality. When you are a kid, life stretches out in front of you like a huge, wide, yawning highway. As you get older, you become aware of the clock-ticking and the more you want to slow life down the more it appears to speed up.
2006-09-22 02:19:46 · answer #8 · answered by retro_girl34 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
It's due to inner perspective. Think of what proportion a day is in your life when you are 5. It's a much higher percent than a day in your life when you are 60.
2006-09-22 02:26:27 · answer #9 · answered by American Spirit 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think it is because we get into a routine. I do not really know. I think it is just the way God put us together. Our imagination were used more when we were children. Barbies and JI Joes seemed cool and then are minds devlope more and we get into liking other things. :0)
2006-09-22 02:20:51 · answer #10 · answered by Marie 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋