What IS Urgent Online Time

A brick-and-mortar shop has an exclusive going on sale at 3 pm on a Friday precludes participation for most parents (school pickup or activities) and 9-5 hourly workers. Whereas the child-free tech architect can easily step out for an hour without repercussions. The architect holds the time-power.

An hourly worker using public transportation is invited to a Meet and Greet immediately after work one day. Unfortunately, they do not have enough for an Uber, and the event occurs past hours of public transportation.  Getting a ride home from a coworker for a 2-hour drive is not feasible. The worker is time-powerless.

• Give lots of notice
• Practice time negotiation
• Schedule around the most rigid schedule, not the highest ranking person. 
• Provide virtual options where possible
• Provide babysitting
• Rotate locations

Any urgent phrase asking you to "act now" or "buy now" when the product is neither scarce nor urgent. "Act Now to get 10% off" when anyone providing their email address receives a   10% off promotion valid for a month (or more). 

The bad guy using time pressure techniques. "Your card was stolen. Click here NOW to cancel your fraudulent charges." Encourages you to click a link before really examining the email or the link.  Uses fear and urgency to steal your information and possibly your identity. 

• Take a breath
• Ask yourself the real consequences
• Is this purely FOMO?
• Flag and return later when clear-headed.
• Validate claims independently with bank or credit card company. 

Time can be used as a weapon online to force decisions. Time becomes institutional racism as it depends on a binary world of accepting time and time constraints seemingly without the ability to change, amend, fight, or negotiate start and end times.

The vulnerable are disproportionately affected by online time. An hourly worker dependent on the bus schedule picking up their children at exactly 3:15 pm does not have the luxury to log on between 2 and 4 pm to select benefits or attend an "optional" off-hours benefits presentation.

Time negotiation is the ideal means to combat a time-power disparity and level the playing field to ensure all have the option to participate. Systems like Calendly  and other availability engines have been built to ensure a wide audience can provide their exact schedules and the system determines availability. The system does not take the VPs schedule as set in stone and force all to revolve around him. 

The ability to suspend time and live in a fantasy of suspended animation can be associated with trauma in that the victim lives and depends on the moments of bliss to hold onto through the bad times.

Trauma bonding occurs when someone experiences shared trauma and thus quickly develops a deep psychosocial-emotional relationship with someone causing them harm. It develops from cycles of abuse and positive reinforcement.

Narcissistic abuse is emotional abuse in which the abuser only cares about themselves and uses words and actions to manipulate their victim's behavior and emotional state.  The isolation, exploitation, and removal of independence can all be performed using time and time constraints.