Putting time aside: Navigating the flow of becoming in a posthuman world

In reflecting on categories of childhood, youth and adolescence, this article challenges the emphasis on linearity that often emerges within and between these representations of different life stages. It is argued that the focus on the linear dimension of children’s lives can act to hide some of the more vital, nonlinear and situated aspects of children’s becoming. In a context where children will inevitably be required to navigate increasingly complex local/global tensions and uncertainties, a shift towards the nonlinear can help us to better understand ways of living with/in this world that are both responsive and attentive. Through this, it is possible to see why these nonlinear dimensions of becoming hold a transformative potential; one that can help overcome the inertia that ironically arises within the frenetic pace often associated with contemporary childhoods.