Instant messaging. Superfast broadband. High-frequency trading. 'Move fast and break things,' advises Mark Zuckerberg. The world is, undeniably, accelerating.In this revelatory study of modern living, Robert Colvile examines the effect of this speed on our minds and bodies, studying the opportunities that faster communication and operation could bring not just to the universe of social media but to everything - from music, film and books, to transport, politics and the government. The Great Acceleration explains how the positives outnumber the negatives and why, if this speeding up is inevitable, we should rush to embrace it.