Feeling Depressed and Discombobulated? Social Acceleration May Be to Blame
Jan 8, 2024
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Andrew Root, a theology professor, discusses the impact of social acceleration on modern life, particularly in religious contexts. He explores how the relentless pace of productivity leads to feelings of depression and discombobulation. Root delves into the shift in time perception, revealing how the pursuit of optionality can drown out genuine fulfillment. He highlights the challenge of navigating faith in a secular age, advocating for finding resonance and meaningful connections over mere speed and choices.
Social acceleration leads to feelings of depression, exhaustion, and disconnection in modern life.
Living in a secular age means that belief systems are now contested and subject to personal validation and change.
Modern institutions, including churches, struggle to keep up with social acceleration, leading to existential fatigue and a loss of purpose.
Deep dives
The Impact of Social Acceleration on Modern Life
Modern life is characterized by social acceleration, which is the constant push to go faster and do more. This acceleration is not only seen in technology but also in our social lives and even our religious institutions. The desire for speed and reach has become deeply ingrained in our culture, shaping our ideas of what constitutes a good life. However, this constant acceleration leads to feelings of depression, exhaustion, and a sense of disconnection. As individuals and institutions strive to keep up with the demands of social acceleration, they find themselves in a constant race that never allows for rest or contentment.
Charles Taylor's Exploration of the Secular Age
Charles Taylor's work explores the shift from a time when belief in God was a given, to a secular age where belief itself becomes contested and fragileized. In the past, belief in God was necessary for functioning in society, but now there are multiple competing beliefs and options for what constitutes the good life. This leads to a sense of discombobulation and a search for meaning in various avenues. Taylor also highlights the individualization of belief, where belief systems are no longer fixed, but rather subject to personal validation and change. This shift has reshaped our understanding of what it means to live in a secular age.
Hartmut Rosa and the Impact of Social Acceleration on Churches
Hartmut Rosa builds on Taylor's ideas by exploring how social acceleration affects churches and religious communities. He argues that modern institutions, including churches, stabilize themselves through constant growth and acceleration. However, this constant push for growth creates a deep existential fatigue and a sense of depression. Churches find themselves constantly trying to keep up, struggling to engage their members who often feel checked out and disconnected. The demand to do more with less energy leads to feelings of despondency and a loss of purpose. The shift from intergenerational to intra-generational time horizons also poses challenges for religious communities, as the structures and practices that were built for generational time no longer align with the way individuals live their lives.
The Pressure of Social Acceleration
The podcast discusses the overwhelming nature of social acceleration, where individuals and society feel constantly pressed to keep up with the fast-paced demands of modern life. It highlights the impact of this acceleration on individuals' energy levels and their ability to actively engage in various aspects of life, including church involvement. The podcast emphasizes the challenges faced by parents who struggle to balance their children's activities with church commitments, leading to a sense of overwhelm for both parents and pastors.
Resonance as a Counter to Acceleration
The podcast explores the concept of resonance as an alternative to the pressures of social acceleration. Resonance is described as a profound and transformative experience that connects individuals to the world, whether through art, deep conversations, or other meaningful encounters. This form of action goes beyond the instrumental nature of acceleration and allows for genuine connection and transformation. The podcast encourages individuals to cultivate practices and perspectives that open them up to the possibility of resonance, even in a world dominated by acceleration.
The social theorist Charles Taylor says that part of what characterizes a secular age is that there are multiple competing options for what constitutes the good life.
The sociologist Hartmut Rosa argues that modern citizens most often locate that good in optionality, speed, and reach, which creates a phenomenon he calls “social acceleration.”
Professor of theology Andrew Root explores the ideas of Taylor, Rosa, and social acceleration in his work, including in his book The Congregation in a Secular Age. While Andy largely looks at social acceleration through the lens of its effect on churches, it has implications for every aspect of our lives, from work to family. We explore those implications today on the show, unpacking the way that seeking stability through growth leads to feelings of depression, exhaustion, and discombobulation, how we collect possibilities while not knowing what we’re aiming for, and how we’ve traded the burden of shoulds for the burden of coulds. We discuss how social acceleration has shifted the horizons and significance of time, how time has to be hollowed out to be sped up, and how the solution to the ill effects of social acceleration isn’t just slowing down, but finding more resonance.
