數字時代的成長之惑

The day before the start of Vishal Singh's senior year， he faced a stark1） choice on his bedroom desk： book or computer？

Vishal， a bright 17-year-old at Woodside High School in Redwood City， California， should already have finished his summer reading assignment， Kurt Vonnegut's2） Cat's Cradle. But Vishal， who typically spends most of his time on Facebook3） and YouTube4）， had managed to read only 43 pages in two months.

That day， instead of picking up the book， he clicked over to YouTube. \"You can get a whole story [on it] in six minutes，\" he explains. \"A book takes so long. I prefer the immediate gratification5）.\"

Students have always faced distractions6）. But for kids in our digital age， the constant stream of stimuli from computers and cell phones is a new challenge to focusing and learning. The risk， researchers say， is that developing brains can get too used to constantly switching tasks—and become less able to stay focused on anything.

\"[Kids'] brains are rewarded not for staying on task but for jumping to the next thing，\" says Michael Rich， a professor at Harvard Medical School in Boston， Massachusetts. \"The worry is that we're raising a generation of kids in front of screens whose brains are going to be wired7） differently.\"

This concern comes at a time when mastering modern technology is more important than ever. Parents and educators are intensifying efforts to use technology at home and in the classroom， seeking to give young people the skills they'll need to get ahead.

Across the country， schools are being equipped with computers and mobile devices so that they can teach students on their own technological territory.

That territory is vividly displayed on the sprawling8） Woodside High campus. Here， as in many American schools， it's not uncommon for students to send hundreds or even thousands of text messages a day， or spend hours playing video games. And just about everyone is on Facebook.

高中最后一年開學前一天，維沙爾·辛格面臨著一個艱難的選擇：臥室書桌上擺放著一本書和一臺電腦，該選哪個？

維沙爾是美國加利福尼亞州雷德伍德市伍德賽德高中的一名學生，今年17歲，人很聰明。本來這個時候他應該已經完成了暑期的閱讀作業，即讀完庫爾特·馮內古特的《貓的搖籃》，但在這兩個月假期的大部分時間里，他基本都在瀏覽臉譜網和YouTube視頻網站，而這本書只勉強讀了43頁。

那天，維沙爾并沒有拿起《貓的搖籃》看，而是選擇點開了YouTube網站。“通過YouTube了解這部小說的全部故事只需六分鐘，”他解釋說，“看書太費時間，我更喜歡即刻得到滿足的感覺?！?/p>

一直以來，學生們總是會面臨各種讓人分心的誘惑。但對于成長在我們這個數字時代的孩子們來說，電腦與手機源源不斷的刺激是一項新的挑戰，令他們難以集中精力，專心學習。研究人員表示，這樣做所帶來的隱患在于，尚在發育的大腦習慣了總是不斷切換任務，結果就會變得無論做什么事情都難以集中精力。

“[孩子們的]大腦不是被鼓勵去專注當前事務，而是被鼓勵將注意力轉移到下一件事上，”馬薩諸塞州波士頓市哈佛醫學院的邁克爾·瑞奇教授說，“令人擔心的是，如今我們撫養長大的這一代孩子整天都對著各種電子屏幕，他們大腦的運作方式將會變得不同?！?/p>

當掌握現代技術變得比過去更加重要時，這種擔憂就會隨之出現。家長和教育工作者們正在努力推進科技設備在家庭和課堂上的使用，希望能讓年青一代學會所需的相關技能，以獲取領先優勢。

全美各地的學校都在配置電腦和各類移動設備，以便能夠在自己的“科技領地”里展開教學。

而伍德賽德高中那不斷擴張的校園里正生動地展示著其所謂的“科技領地”的內涵。在這里，正如在美國許多學校一樣，學生一天發幾百條甚至幾千條短信或玩數個小時電子游戲并不算什么新鮮事兒。此外，幾乎人人都在上臉譜網。

27，000 Texts 2.7萬條短信

Allison Miller， 14， sends and receives a total of about 27，000 texts a month. The Woodside student texts between classes， the moment soccer practice ends， while being driven to and from school， and often while studying. But all this multitasking comes at a price： she blames multitasking for her lower grades.

\"I'll be reading a book for homework， and I'll get a text message and pause my reading [and] pick up the phone to reply to the text message，\" she says. \"Then 20 minutes later [I'll] realize， 'Oh， I forgot to do my homework.'\"

Vishal's ability to be distracted by computers is rivaled9） by his talent for using them. During his junior year， he discovered a passion for digital filmmaking and made a name for himself among friends and teachers with his short films.

But he also plays video games 10 hours a week and routinely10） posts Facebook status updates at 2 am， even on school nights.

Several teachers call Vishal one of their brightest students， and they wonder why things are not adding up11） with him. Last semester， Vishal's grade-point average was 2.3 after he earned a D+ in English and an F in Algebra II. （He got an A in film critique.）

Determined to engage his students with 21st-century technology， Woodside's principal， David Reilly， nonetheless recognizes the problem that Vishal faces.

\"He's a kid caught between two worlds，\" Reilly says， a virtual world and the real world—with its real-life demands.

14歲的阿莉森·米勒每個月總計要收發大約2.7萬條短信。不論在課間、足球訓練一結束后、上學和放學乘車期間還是平時學習的時候，這名伍德賽德高中的學生都會發短信。不過，這樣的一心多用是有代價的——米勒抱怨說，一心多用導致她成績下滑。

“我正在讀一本書，想要完成我的家庭作業，這時我收到一條短信，于是我放下書，拿起手機回復短信，”她說，“等20分鐘過后，我才意識到，‘哦，我忘記做作業了。’”

而對于維沙爾來說，他很容易因電腦分心，但在電腦方面也同樣有很高的天賦。在讀11年級（編注：相當于國內高二）時，他突然迷上了數字電影制作，還因自己制作的一些微電影在朋友和老師中間小有名氣。

但他也玩電子游戲，每周玩十個小時，并且例行公事般地于凌晨兩點在臉譜網上更新狀態，甚至在上學日的晚上也不例外。

有好幾位老師都說維沙爾是他們教過的最聰明的學生之一，只是他們不明白為何有些事情在他身上說不通。上學期，維沙爾的英語得了D+，代數2得了F，平均學分才2.3分。（他的影評倒是得了A。）

伍德賽德高中的校長大衛·賴利之前一心想讓他的學生們學習21世紀的科技，但他現在也認識到了維沙爾所面臨的問題。

“他困在了兩個世界之間?！辟嚴f，一個是虛擬世界，一個是現實世界，而后者是有實實在在的要求的。

Needed： Downtime 應對措施：停休片刻

Neuroscientists have been studying people like Vishal who are always online. Their studies suggest that the brain needs periods of rest in order to absorb information and make connections between ideas. This could explain why many digital teens are having more trouble than ever focusing on schoolwork and setting priorities.

\"Downtime is to the brain what sleep is to the body，\" observes Rich of Harvard Medical School. \"But kids are in a constant mode of stimulation.\"

Rich isn't suggesting that kids toss out12） their phones and computers. He simply advises that they take a more balanced approach to what he says are powerful tools necessary to compete and succeed in modern life.

Vishal's English teacher， Marcia Blondel， is more pessimistic about the changes technology has brought. She now has students read aloud in class because many lack the attention span to read assignments on their own.

\"You can't become a good writer by watching YouTube， texting， and e-mailing a bunch of abbreviations，\" Blondel tells her students.

It's a reminder of the choices they must constantly make. Computer games or homework？ Immediate gratification or investing in the future？

神經科學家們一直在研究像維沙爾這樣總是泡在網絡里的人群。他們的研究表明，大腦需要不時休息一下來消化信息，梳理各種概念之間的關聯。這就可以解釋為什么許多沉迷于數字世界的青少年比以往更加難以專心做作業，更加不容易分清事情的輕重緩急。

“停休之于大腦，就像睡眠之于身體，”哈佛醫學院的瑞奇評論說，“但現在的孩子大腦總是處于亢奮狀態。”

瑞奇并不是建議孩子們拋開他們的手機和電腦。他認為手機和電腦是參與現代社會競爭并獲得成功的必備利器，對于這些工具，他只是建議孩子們應該更加均衡合理地去利用。

維沙爾的英語老師馬西婭·布隆德爾對科技業已帶來的變化持更為悲觀的態度。她現在要求學生們在課堂上大聲朗讀，因為很多學生獨自做閱讀作業時無法保持注意力。

“靠看YouTube視頻、發短信和寫縮略詞堆砌的郵件是寫不出好文章的?！辈悸〉聽枌λ膶W生說。

這就提醒他們必須要不斷做出選擇。是選擇電腦游戲，還是選擇家庭作業？是選擇一時痛快，還是選擇投資未來？

About That Homework 再談維沙爾的暑期作業

Principal Reilly hopes that technology can help students develop essential skills without compromising13） analytical thought. But in Vishal's case， computers and school-work seem to be competing forces.

Blondel says that Vishal， after a decent start to the school year， fell into bad habits. By late October， when he handed in a short essay weeks late， his English grade had slipped.

What was Vishal up to？ A string of one weekend's Facebook updates about his latest video gives us a good idea：

Saturday， 11：55 pm： editing， editing， editing.

Sunday， 3：55 pm： 8+ hours of shooting， 8+ hours of editing.

All for just a three-minute scene.

Mind = Dead.

Sunday， 11：00 pm： fun day， finally got to spend a day relaxing ... now about that homework ...

賴利校長希望科技能夠幫助學生掌握一些基本技能，同時又不損害他們的分析思考能力。然而，維沙爾的情況表明，電腦和學業似乎是相互沖突的。

布隆德爾說，維沙爾在新學期伊始表現還算不錯，但之后卻染上了壞習慣，到10月下旬，等他交上來一篇已經拖了幾個星期的短文作業時，他的英語成績已經下滑了不少。

維沙爾到底在做什么呢？他在某個周末更新的一連串臉譜網狀態可以給我們一個很好的答案，這些狀態都與他最新制作的一個視頻有關：

星期六晚上11：55：剪輯，剪輯，剪輯。

星期天下午3：55：八個多小時的拍攝，八個多小時的剪輯。

這一切為的只是一個三分鐘的場景。

腦細胞已經死光。

星期天晚上11：00：開心的一天，終于能放松一天了……現在來看看家庭作業吧……