Time flies when you’re having fun: a common saying throughout the world that often reflects cheerful, positive memories. However, it can sometimes feel like time is speeding past at a rate that doesn’t seem to slow down, making it more of an overwhelming than an insignificant phrase.
Especially with the start of the new year, those with sentimental mindframes might start to panic at the notion of time passing right by. Somehow it feels like students were just attending football games, then taking a break off of school for Thanksgiving break, and now are already in second semester. With this, this fear is clearly relevant in the progressing school year.
Oftentimes, students will use tools like social media as a means of passing time. Are you bored while waiting for the bus? Check Instagram! Do you want something to do so you could procrastinate doing your homework? Scroll on TikTok for a bit. Despite it feeling like scrolling takes up only a small amount of people’s days, it typically dominates one’s free time in a day. With no notice, 4:00 PM could shift into 11:00 PM in what seems like no time at all.
If a person is stressed about how quickly time seems to be going by yet chooses to scroll on their phone for hours on end, the reason they feel that worried likely has the explanation right there: time seems to pass quicker when one is distracted by video after video after video
When days are primarily made up of media consumption, time isn’t the only thing slipping by: memories are, too. While social media is a quick-fix to uninteresting moments, it also holds people back from bonding with each other. People don’t talk, laugh, and share about their days when they are just scrolling online; instead, they are taking away from the precious time they do have with one another for short-term content and videos that will be forgotten as soon as they’re scrolled past.
To ease the anxiety that comes with the days fleeting by, children and adults alike can work more on living in the moment. Rather than checking notifications when bored, try reflecting on your day or look around to find the beauty in where you are.
Days can feel tiring every so often, but at moments it can be better to embrace that boredom instead of constantly seeking ways to feel like they’re over sooner. Taking time for yourself and your thoughts can both make you feel more appreciative of what you have and can make days feel more worthwhile, which ultimately leads to the passage of time feeling more relaxed and less overpowering.
