Ever since Georg Simmel (1895) introduced the notion into sociological accounts of modernity, scholars have tried to empirically test the claim of an increasing “speed of life” in modern society. The acceleration of speed or pace of life has been characterized as an “intensification” of our experience of time, a “time squeeze,” and “hurriedness” in leisure time. However, to date, no comprehensive instrument, scale, or indicator has been developed that is grounded in solid theory and serves to empirically measure and compare the pace of life in a straightforward manner. The purpose of this research is to develop and validate a scale-based measure that reveals whether individuals pursue a fast or slow pace of life in a leisure-time context. The result is the fifteen-item General Acceleration Scale (GAS), which conceptually rests on the comprehensive theory of social acceleration by Hartmut Rosa (2013). The scale systematically tests the pace of life along four temporal strategies of speedup: performing activities faster, doing multitasking, replacing time-consuming by time-saving activities, and filling breaks or waiting times with productive activities. If these temporal strategies form a consistent pattern, they consequently lead to an increase in the rate, speed, or relative density of experiences and activities per unit of time and thus to an increase in the pace of life. Validation of the GAS was completed by a large sample (N = 1161) as part of a self-report online survey in Germany in 2019. We examined the convergent and discriminant validity as well as internal consistency reliability of the scale and conducted a confirmatory factor analysis via maximum likelihood estimation. Control variables and discriminant measures were included to access construct validity. Overall, we can validate the GAS as a reliable measure of time use that can be used as a straightforward pace of life indicator.

自从乔治·西梅尔（Georg Simmel，1895年）将这一概念引入现代性的社会学分析以来，学者们就试图通过经验检验现代社会中“生活速度”不断提高的主张。速度或生活节奏的加快被表征为我们对时间的体验的“强化”，闲暇时间的“时间紧缩”和“匆忙”。但是，到目前为止，还没有开发出扎实的理论基础，可以凭经验直接衡量和比较生活节奏的综合性工具，量表或指标。这项研究的目的是开发和验证基于量表的量度，该量度揭示个人在闲暇时间是追求快还是慢的生活节奏。结果是15个项目的总体加速量表（GAS），从概念上讲，这取决于Hartmut Rosa（2013）提出的关于社会加速的综合理论。该量表沿着四个暂时的加速策略系统地测试生活节奏：更快地执行活动，执行多任务处理，用省时的活动代替耗时的时间以及用生产性活动填补休息时间或等待时间。如果这些时间策略形成一致的模式，那么它们将导致单位时间内体验和活动的速度，速度或相对密度的增加，从而导致生活节奏的增加。GAS的验证是通过大量样本完成的（用省时的活动来代替耗时的时间，并用生产性活动来填补休息时间或等待时间。如果这些时间策略形成一致的模式，那么它们将导致单位时间内体验和活动的速度，速度或相对密度的增加，从而导致生活节奏的增加。GAS的验证是通过大量样本完成的（用省时的活动来代替耗时的时间，并用生产性活动来填补休息时间或等待时间。如果这些时间策略形成一致的模式，那么它们将导致单位时间内体验和活动的速度，速度或相对密度的增加，从而导致生活节奏的增加。GAS的验证是通过大量样本完成的（N = 1161）作为2019年德国自我报告在线调查的一部分。我们检查了量表的收敛性和判别度以及内部一致性可靠性，并通过最大似然估计进行了验证性因素分析。包括控制变量和判别措施以获取构建体有效性。总的来说，我们可以将GAS验证为一种可靠的时间使用量度，并可以将其用作直接的生活节奏指标。