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Reader question: Please “real time” in this sentence: In the social media age, stories unfold in real time. My comments: Real time literally means right now, as it happens. In the past, only if you were watching a basketball game broadcast live on TV, did things ever happen in real time, i.e. without delay. Today, social media including the likes (or dislikes depending on your perspective) of Instagram, Facebook and WeChat mean people are sending reports of major events in their lives online to be viewed by family and friends as they happen, without noticeable delay. In effect, these stories are broadcast live, allowing others to view them instantly. By “major events in their lives”, I mean of course the meal they’re currently having, including all the dishes as they are made and brought to the table, etc and so forth. I mean, the meal one is currently eating must be the most interesting thing that happens to us, judging by the frequency with which pictures of a meal are offloaded online. To many Chinese, I’m afraid this is true, too. Anyways, when I was young, the term “real time” was unheard of. People had little use of it in the first place, I suppose. Like I said, the only events broadcast live are a few important ball games, and they were really few and far between. And those were happy times, too. Live sports on TV were much treasured and relished than they are today. Back in the day, like I said, they were rare. Today, live games are 24-7, omnipresent and everywhere. | 
