The vanishing hours: Future temporal focus and the passage of time in the digital era

In this study, we utilized two newly developed and psychometrically validated instruments—the Immersion in Digital Life Scale (IDLS) and the Quality of Digital Experience Scale (QDES)—to investigate the relationships among Immersion in Digital Life (IDL), the Quality of Digital Experiences (QDE), individual Temporal Focus (TF), and the subjective Passage of Time (PoT). The study sample comprised 7536 participants across six European countries. Our findings indicate that a higher IDLS score and a higher QDES score are associated with an accelerated PoT. Our results revealed that a higher Future Temporal Focus (TF-Future) is related to an accelerated PoT. Moreover, there is an indirect effect of TF-Future on PoT via IDLS and the dimension Time and Efficiency of QDES. Specifically, individuals with a stronger TF-Future tend to engage in digital life to a greater extent and experience its beneficial effects, which in turn contributes to a faster subjective experience of time. Country-level differences emerged: participants in Poland reported the highest levels of IDL and the fastest PoT, while individuals in the United Kingdom exhibited the strongest Past Temporal Focus (TF-Past) and the slowest PoT. The results shed more light on the consequences of digital usage on time perception. • Introduced two novel, psychometrically validated instruments: IDLS and QDES • Analyzed data from 7536 participants across six European countries • Digital immersion and quality of digital experiences are linked to a faster PoT • Digital immersion mediates the relationship between future temporal focus and PoT