The term ephemeral is an adjective of a qualifying type that is used to designate those things or circumstances that do not last long and that occur briefly. The concept of ephemeral comes from the Greek, ephemera, which literally means ‘that lasts a single day’. Although this meaning implied the duration of a day, the term came to be used later for all those events, circumstances or things that tended to last a short time and disappear quickly.
Normally, the term ephemeral is used mostly for natural events or phenomena since many of them can last only a few seconds and, even if they repeat themselves over and over again, their specific duration is very short. This type of event can be very varied and range from the generation of a bubble to the generation of a wave in the sea, or certain animal behaviors that last very little. In this sense, the notion of ephemeral generally also implies the notion of delicacy.
However, ephemeral events or circumstances do not occur only in the space of nature, but many creations and situations related to the human being can be considered ephemeral. This is especially the case in postmodern societies in which the interest in constant change, in the development of new technologies, in permanent growth and in the discovery of new and unique sensations are characteristics present in any social group. In this sense, many elements of our current life can be considered ephemeral and, although not all of them, many of them are related to this type of postmodern society to which we refer.
Examples of ephemeral situations or things for the human being can be the technological devices that are improved and surpassed minute by minute, the news that has an ephemeral duration due to the constant influx of novelties or phenomena such as the same human relationships that, today, they tend to last much less than they did centuries ago.
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