Modernses

Modernses is a neologism used in some strands of cultural theory and media studies to describe a cluster of contemporary sensibilities and practices associated with life in the digital, globalized present. The term has appeared in scattered scholarly and critical writings since the early 2020s, but it does not have a single, widely agreed etymology or scope.

Definition and scope: The concept centers on how people experience and perform modern life amid accelerated information flows, hybrid identities, and porous social boundaries. It highlights everyday rituals such as rapid media consumption, participation in ephemeral online communities, and the commodification of immediacy. Proponents see modernses as an umbrella for examining how technology, capitalism, and culture shape perception, time, and social relations.

Applications: Researchers use modernses to analyze trends in fashion and lifestyle, digital aesthetics, and urban experience; debates over attention, privacy, and platform economies; and the blending of public and private spheres in daily life.

Reception: Critics argue that the term risks vagueness and overgeneralization. Supporters say it offers a flexible vocabulary to discuss interrelated contemporary phenomena.

See also: Modernity, Digital culture, Media studies, Urban sociology.