Definition:
The perpetual now is a temporal state in which systems keep individuals locked in continuous immediacy, preventing long-term planning, rest, or strategic thinking.
Usage Context:
Appears in live feeds, endless notifications, rolling deadlines, and economic precarity where survival requires constant responsiveness.
Critical Note:
Living in the perpetual now erodes autonomy and future-oriented agency. It benefits systems that rely on constant engagement while exhausting those within them.