Final answer:
The term referring to the perception of time as being a central focus and deadlines as crucial in societal norms alludes to a cultural emphasis on structured time management catalyzed by technological advancement in postmodern societies. This concept, aligned with time-space compression, affects goal-achievement cycles and can potentially lead to narcotizing dysfunction.
Step-by-step explanation:
The perception of time as central to our activities, where deadlines play a critical role in the norms of society, reflects a cultural emphasis on time management and efficiency. This perspective is a characteristic of postmodern societies where the advancement of technology and media has intensified the pace of life, leading to what David Harvey describes as time-space compression. Time-space compression refers to the way rapid developments in communication and transportation technologies have made the world feel smaller and time to seem faster.
With goals often set for the distant future, the goal-achievement cycles have lengthened considerably, contrasting sharply with the more immediate cycle of needs and goals in a natural environment or pre-industrial society. The pressure to keep up with the constant flow of information and to meet set goals by deadlines can impact the cultural and social structure at both individual and collective levels. This dynamic can also lead to narcotizing dysfunction, where people become overwhelmed by too much information to the point it diminishes their active engagement in social issues.