Technological acceleration and acceleration of social change are analytically distinct phenomena.

Evidence

If one takes a closer look at the way technical innovations affect social institutions and practices it becomes clear that social change and technological innovation can be analytically distinguished even though they naturally often go hand in hand empirically and historically. I have defined technological acceleration as the intentional acceleration of goal-directed processes, whereas the acceleration of social change relates to the tempo of change in, on the one hand, practices and action orientations and, on the other, associational structures and patterns of relationship. … Only a reorganization of the labor process that appears at ever shorter intervals could be so understood. Conversely the replacement of party platforms with a four-year term by a two-year term represents an example of accelerated social change that contains no element of technical acceleration. — Hartmut Rosa, Social Acceleration, 256

Categorization

• DEFINE: The passage draws the core analytic distinction between technological acceleration (velocity of goal-directed processes) and acceleration of social change (tempo of change in practices and associations).
• XREF: connects to: Acceleration within society differs categorically from acceleration of society as a whole. — Hartmut Rosa, Social Acceleration: A New Theory of…, 128; Meta-acceleration means social change itself accelerates, not just technology — Hartmut Rosa, Social Acceleration: A New Theory of…, 181; Social acceleration splits into technical acceleration and social rates of change — Hartmut Rosa, Social Acceleration: A New Theory of…, 227 (+3 more)

Broader Connections

• Technical speed-up differs categorically from the acceleration of society proper #corroborates (0.90) — Hartmut Rosa, Social Acceleration, 261
• Social acceleration splits into technical acceleration and social rates of change #expands (0.85) — Hartmut Rosa, Social Acceleration, 227
• Social acceleration takes three analytically distinct forms #expands (0.80) — Hartmut Rosa, Social Acceleration, 65
• Social acceleration concerns frequency of change, not speed over distance #expands (0.75) — Hartmut Rosa, Social Acceleration, 226