World of Warcraft

World of Warcraft (WoW), a game of the genre MMORPG (massive multiplayer online role playing game), has proven to be a valuable field of study for researchers interested in understanding the functioning of online communities and social relationships in those communities. This chapter seeks, through literature review and interviews conducted within the game itself, from player/researcher immersion, to discuss the relationships of a group of players in a new context of relationship and (in)formation, considering the significant screen time, communication processes, identifications, and identity building.

If It Ticks Like a Clock, It Should Be Time Perspective

In recent years, the concept of time perspective has acquired a prominent position within the psychology of time. After Zimbardo and Boyd´s seminal work, thousands of papers have cited its work and within the last decade; several books and papers of other authors have been dedicated to exploring and expanding its theory. Even when considering other relevant authors about this topic, such as Nuttin and Lens, among many others, Zimbardo´s theory has become a synonym of time perspective research. This chapter represents an effort to identify some of the existent shortcomings in subjective time research and more specifically in time perspective topics. This chapter intends to encourage a mostly needed discussion about what the actual state of the research being developed is and what precautions should be taken into consideration in future researches.

Screen Time, Temporality, and (Dis)embodiment

In this chapter, the authors will attempt to answer two related questions: How is our cognitive experience with time enacted and extended? Has the cognitive dimension of the experience of time lost its reference in the body? The background reviews relevant literature and shows the motivation for the main discussion of the chapter, especially the contrast between the authors' approach and the traditional symbolic-representational view. The principal argument will be that the dimension of the organism's coupling with the environment that can be called engagement with material culture—or things—has been undertheorized in the literature. Bringing this dimension into the analysis can, the authors argue, help explain how we experience psychological time. What's more, it can help understand the kinds of extra-bodily extensions that might explain why the use of technologies does not threaten disembodiment.

The Destructuring of Time in Psychosis

This chapter intends to interact and integrate different perspectives that address temporality as a dimension that shapes the human being's life. On the other hand, temporality as a variable or universal dimension structures both the normal and abnormal life of people, having approached the subject from the perspective of psychiatrists of the Franco-German tradition to explain and phenomenologically understand the experience of time in psychosis. At present, understanding and interdisciplinary work should be taken into account and integrated for their application in the psychosocial rehabilitation of people with this pathology, recognizing also that the subject has not obtained concrete or satisfactory answers even today.

Futurization of Thinking and Behavior

This chapter is looking into the emerging concept of “futurization,” which is being used in the context of policy making; however, without clear definition, it creates ambiguous reactions. What does “futurization of politics,” “futurization of thinking,” or “futurization of behavior” actually mean? This chapter looked into the associations citizens or laypeople have with terms “future” and “futurization,” and what were their expressed and unexpressed hopes, dreams, fears, and anxieties. The study, using surveys and focus-groups, revealed a rather lifeless image, future without photosynthesis, without female presence, and overall a wasteland scenario. However, when speaking about “futurization” in comparison to “future,” there is much less inevitability, more personal agency, and both believe in and fear the technological advancement. The working definition of “futurization” is offered in the chapter as well as a comparative analysis of “future” vs. “futurization.” The implications for sustainability policymaking and curriculum development in education are discussed.

Sedated by the Screen

The social use of time has been progressively affected by the presence of screen devices in people's daily lives. These devices are of various types: television, tablet, computer, smartphones, etc. However, all of these have a power of seduction that makes people want to use them. In reality, a significant part of tasks are mediated by screens, whether they are playful tasks, socializing, work or training. In this chapter, the authors reflect on some quasi-paradoxical situations triggered by screen time, which shows that one is sedated by the screen. Then, they present the results of a systematic review of the literature focused on the concept of “screen time,” which shows that the excessive use of the screen is causing various health problems, especially in children and young people. And, the results of two empirical studies are presented, one with young people between 12 and 18 years old, and the other with university students. The results of both studies demonstrate the need to develop competences in the management of the social use of time, that is, to develop time literacy.

Measuring the Relationship Between Time Perspective and Well-Being

The aim of this chapter is to examine the relations between time perspective and well-being considering two groups with different cultural backgrounds between Turkish and French. Instruments tapping into positive and negative affect, ontological well-being, flourishing, and five types of time perspective were administered to 615 late adolescents ages between 18 and 24 (Mean of age= 20.95, SD= 3.28). In this study, a recently created subjective well-being construct, known as ontological well-being (OWB), was utilized for measuring eudaimonic happiness based on time perspective in a cross-cultural study. Cluster analysis showed that Turkish people had higher levels of positive affect, negative affect, and psychological flourishing compared to French people, but the levels of regret and nothingness were similar in both groups. Differences between clusters in terms of negative affect were mainly driven by differences in ontological well-being (OWB).

Screen Time and the Logic of Identification in the Networked Society

This theoretical perspective situates the notion of neo-tribalism or tribalism characterized by fluidity, punctual gatherings, and dispersion, independent of the encounter's purpose and interest, as a generator of networks of sociality in the postmodern cyberspace, from the formation of virtual communities or tribes. In this context, the imaginary occupies a central space in everyday life, because, as a representation, it reveals a meaning that goes beyond appearance. The analysis comprises the communication phenomenon as responsible for the constitution of a social bond in the cyberspace, structured under a postmodern condition, a different and a more tolerant style of seeing the world, unlike modern standards. Rather than well-defined roles to perform as it dominated in modern times, in the postmodernity prevails a full integration of the citizen into several communities by affinities and proximity, led by the logic of identification.

Running After Time

We live in a paradoxical age marked by the widespread perception that life is faster than it used to be, that quick access to people and information will free us to do other things, and simultaneously, most of us have experienced this creeping sense that time is slipping out of our control. That perception is a source of concern and even anguish considering the need we feel to follow the pace “imposed” by technology. The chapter starts by exploring the concept of time, from Heidegger's notion of time as temporality, the lived time, to the concept of real time, inherited from human-computer interaction studies, reflecting the immediacy and simultaneity that characterizes temporality in the digital age. The chapter discusses different perspectives of temporality, considering its relations to technology and power in four main intersections: temporality and technology, temporality and real time, temporality and power, and temporality and deceleration.

The Era of Hyperconnectivity

This chapter presents and discusses the results of a qualitative study developed in Portugal and Brazil regarding PhD time and the scientific supervision processes, focusing on the manner in which digital technologies are used during the preparation time of doctoral theses. Based on the analysis of data collected by 20 semi-structured interviews with students and supervisors, the main advantages and disadvantages of screen time during scientific supervision are examined. In an academic and social context of high acceleration and time fragmentation, research presents valid development perspectives for a re-evaluation of supervision processes, more specifically in the current context marked by high presence of online platforms.