In contemporary environments characterized by accelerating change, heightened stimulus density, and eroding normative frameworks, meaning-making processes are subjected to sustained pressure. While meaning production remains essential for adaptation, increasing environmental demands may compromise its coherence and regulatory function. This article introduces the concept of meaning distortion to describe a condition in which meaning continues to be actively produced but through fragmented, misaligned, or contextually disconnected structures.Building on the notion of meaning as an adaptive mechanism, the study examines how rising meaning-related costs and intensified filtering processes contribute to the disruption of coherent meaning organization. Rather than conceptualizing meaning distortion as the absence of meaning, the framework emphasizes its emergence as an active yet compromised process that preserves short-term responsiveness at the expense of long-term stability.The article outlines key factors contributing to meaning distortion, including accelerated stimulus intensity, erosion of normative structures, affect-driven meaning formation, saturation of cognitive filtering, social transmission mechanisms, and boundary diffusion under globalization. It further identifies behavioral and societal manifestations of distorted meaning, such as inconsistent responses, role shifts, fragmented norms, and institutional strain.This work adopts a conceptual and structural approach, deliberately refraining from clinical classification or pathological diagnosis. Instead, it aims to clarify the conditions under which meaning-making loses coherence and to delineate boundary zones where adaptive processes may intersect with maladaptive outcomes. By providing a theoretical framework for understanding meaning distortion, the article offers a foundation for future empirical and interdisciplinary research on adaptation, regulation, and social coherence under sustained environmental pressure.
Reyhan Karatas (Sun,) studied this question.