數字成癮是否毀了你的生活

How to tell if your digital addiction is ruining your life

數字成癮是否毀了你的生活

The fear that digital distractions are ruining our lives and friendships is widespread.

大家都在擔心這樣一個問題：數字干擾是否會毀了我們的生活和友誼。

To be sure, digital addiction is real. Consider the 2,600 times we touch our phones every day, our panic when we temporarily misplace a device, and how merely seeing a message alert can be as distracting as checking the message itself.

可以肯定的是，數字成癮是真實存在的。鑑於我們每天拿手機的頻率高達2600次，當電子設備暫時性放錯位置時我們會感到恐慌，而僅僅只是看一眼信息提示也與看信息本身的性質一樣——分散注意力。

This can have real consequences. For example, other people do take it personally if you stop talking to them to answer a message. And taking a break from a task to look at your cell phone precludes deep thinking on whatever you were doing.

這可能會帶來實際後果。例如，當你說話說到一半卻停下來回信息的時候，別人會以爲你是在針對他/她。做任務過程中休息一下玩會兒手機會打斷你對手頭任務的深入思考。

But this tells only part of the story. We need to also acknowledge that today's technologies can make us more connected than ever before. So how do we avoid the potential pitfalls while still reaping the benefits?

但這只是數字成癮的一方面。我們還需要承認，當今的技術使我們比以往任何時候都更加緊密地聯繫在了一起。那麼，如何在享受數字時代好處的同時避免潛在的陷阱呢？

How screens affect our interactions

屏幕對人際交往的影響

As a researcher in the area of technology and communications, I have spent nearly two decades looking at the ways in which interacting via screens is different from interacting in other ways, including face-to-face, on the phone and in writing.

作爲技術和通信領域的研究員，我過去近二十年都在研究通過屏幕互動與通過電話/書信/面對面互動之間的不同。

My research group has produced study after study showing that people are more self-serving (that is, they lie more), more negative (for example, giving others lower feedback ratings) and less cooperative (more "looking out for No. 1" behavior) when they use digital means of communicating. And for children under five, there are serious concerns for brain development.

研究小組開展的研究表明，當使用數字方式進行通訊時，人們更爲自私（即說謊次數更多），更消極（例如，給其他人較低的反饋評分）以及更不配合（行事時注重“追求第一”））。對於五歲以下的兒童，我們對其大腦發育極爲關注。

Our fears about the impact of increasing amounts of screen time on ourselves and our children involve three main areas: mental health, addiction and the level of engagement with what's going on around us. In all three, the risks are generally overblown.

我們擔心越來越多的屏幕時間會對自己和孩子造成影響，這主要涉及三個方面：心理健康、成癮和對周圍發生事情的參與度。實際上，這三種風險都被誇大了。

Much has been made of the potential links between depression and cell phone use — especially in teenagers — but recent evidence seems to indicate that that link is tenuous at best. As for addiction, the field of psychology has now recognized video game addiction as a genuine and diagnosable problem.

目前有很多關於抑鬱症與手機使用存在潛在關聯的研究——尤其是對於青少年而言——但最近的證據似乎表明這種關聯充其量是微不足道的。關於成癮，心理學領域現已將電子遊戲成癮視作一種真實存在且可診斷的疾病。