Research by Eisenbahn and Datafolha reflects on lack of time and information overload in Brazilians’ daily lives
In the first quarter of this year, the Datafolha Institute and Eisenbahn, in partnership, carried out a quantitative survey to understand more about the Brazilian relationship with time and the rhythm of people’s lives. The lack of free time and the excess of information absorbed by the population were central themes of the study, which can be accessed on the project’s platform.
The content presented aims to find out how the population deals with the acceleration of the pace of life and reflects on possibilities to reverse this situation, to better enjoy each moment, without fragmented attention. A total of 1,500 people over the age of 18, from all regions of Brazil and with internet access, were interviewed.
The central issue of this analysis is confirmed by a third of the respondents, who declare living on automatic. The point is that this question is not related to leisure time, as 19% of the individuals stated that they did not have habits to relax without worrying about the time, but with a mindset of increasing productivity and inserting more tasks into their daily lives.
An interesting aspect in the contemporary world is also the tendency to accelerate natural processes in real life, which were previously only possible in digital environments. With that, Eisenbahn and Datafolha warn about the importance of returning to the 1x pace, while most are fundamentally at 2x, making an analogy to the consumption of digital content.
This main reference is based on the data that more than a quarter (26%) of Brazilian adults watch videos or listen to audio at high speed to supposedly find time to solve other tasks. But, in addition to the technological tools that can be accelerated, research shows that the public is externalizing this and performing functions without paying 100% attention to what they are performing.
Still on this subject, it is proven that technology is a very important resource in the life of modern human beings: in communication, in the search for knowledge, in relationships and in consumption. From this, the research shows, generational and gender cuts, how harmful it is to be connected all the time, and how this affects the emotional population and their relationships.
Through the survey, health, self-care and hobbies are revealed to be themes that society does not seem to pay much attention to. In the 25 to 34 age group, 44% said they lack time to take care of their health and even more respondents from other age groups said they did not have the desired time to go out with friends and enjoy life, for example.
Data also reflect that 48% of the population dedicates less time than they would like to reading books, at the same level as those who spend less time than they would like to practice a hobby (47%). The vast majority, almost all (90%) say they fully or partially agree that today’s days go by faster than they did in their childhood.
The study outlines a worrying scenario in which the community is trapped in vicious circles of distraction, anxiety and stress, trying to complete countless tasks and obligations, and ends up not being able to concentrate on anything, or almost nothing. And that’s why it’s urgent to encourage a slow-down lifestyle by 1x, with attention to detail, respecting processes. This is one of the desired goals of Instituto Datafolha and Eisenbahn, after the intellectual understanding of all these symptomatic data, the scenario outlined is that most of civilization is living ‘with its head elsewhere’, without understanding large portions of the present moment.
In general, one of the reflections that this knowledge offers is: what shapes the future is the quality of our perception in the present. Therefore, having this understanding can be one of the most important teachings to have a full life, absolutely free of distractions, and capable of transforming everyday moments into good and unforgettable memories in the future.
Check out the full survey here.
(Image credits: Dylan Ferreira/Unsplash)
