沉迷網絡的千禧一代

文/伊麗莎白·加里斯譯/王飛虹

沉迷網絡的千禧一代

文/伊麗莎白·加里斯譯/王飛虹

編者按：本刊將陸續推出美國大學生寫的隨筆，這些隨筆原汁原味、新鮮生動，供稿人王飛虹是美國北卡羅來納大學教堂山分校發展心理學博士。王博士現在美國佛羅里達大學和圣達菲大學執教，同時主導家庭互動與兒童行為情感發展方面的研究。在心理學教學實踐中，王博士鼓勵學生在課外進行文字創作，審視自己和他人的學習、工作和生活狀態，更深層次地理解自己、他人與社會，充分發掘、表達和實現自我價值，推動積極價值觀的傳遞和國際文化交流。歡迎讀者提供反饋意見。

美國人經常是離不開手機。走在美國的任何大街小巷上，你都會看到人們已經把手機當作身體之延伸。在某種程度上，他們這樣做也沒有錯。手機是通往社交媒體世界的門戶。在這個媒體平臺，人們可以展現出想要世界看到的任何版本的自己。社交媒體，特別是對千禧一代來說，用來宣揚一個人的理想自我，同時借助這個平臺，來判斷旁人是否過得精彩。尤其對于千禧一代，互聯網和社交媒體已經通過手機、iPad、筆記本電腦和臺式電腦而固化為美國社會的生活方式。觸手可及的互聯網助長了人們對Me世代的刻板印象——主要指千禧一代癡迷于別人如何在網絡空間中認知他們。

Americans are always glued to their phones; you could walk down any street within the United States and see people treating their phone like an extension of themselves. In a way, they are not wrong to do so—phones are a gateway2gateway方法；手段。to the world of social media where people are able to project any version of themselves that they wish for the world to see. Social media, particularly for millennials3指出生于20世紀時未成年，在跨入21世紀（即2000年）以后達到成年年齡的一代。, is used to promote a person’s ideal self while simultaneously serving as an outlet4outlet（感情、思想、精力發泄的）出路；表現機會。to gauge5gauge判定，判斷（尤指人的感情或態度）。the excitement of the lives of those around them. Between cell phones, iPads, laptops, and desktops, the internet and social media are institutions6institution風俗；生活方式。within American society, particularly for millennials. This access7access接觸，入口，指通過各種電子產品上網及加入網上社交媒體。promotes the“Generation Me8美國圣地亞哥州立大學心理學教授珍·M.特文格（Jean M. Twenge）曾于2006年出版《Me世代：年輕人的處境與未來》（ Generation Me: Why Today’s Young Americans Are More Con fi dent, Assertive, Entitled—and More Miserable Than Ever Before）一書，書里所謂的“Me世代”，指的是1970年代以后出生的美國人，作者認為他們的特質是：高度自尊、外控性格、高壓生存、平權意識?！?stereotype, mainly that millennials are obsessed with how they are perceived by others through cyber space.

[2]讓我給你描繪一張美國普通大學生的生活畫面：一天始于鬧鐘喚你起床，隨后就是馬上查看推特、Instagram、Snapchat和臉書等社交媒體上的更新信息。通過這些平臺了解了朋友和家人的最新生活動態之后，你現在可以安心開始新的一天，準備好上課了。然而，一旦開始上課，又有各種誘惑，如手機里信息更新的提醒聲、上網和教室之外的人聯系，而不是專注于你面前正在講課的教授。然后你會和一些朋友湊在一起吃個午飯。當你抬頭暫離手機屏幕時，才意識到五分鐘之內還沒有人說一個字！他們也都在看他們的手機。對這個沉默的場面你也不足為怪，繼續查看你的手機，直到最終去上其余的課程，并完成已被你拖延的作業。當這一天結束的時候，你禁不住要再次查看完你所有的社交媒體朋友圈才能最后閉上眼睛睡覺，而第二天又是同樣的惡性循環。

[2] Let me paint you a picture of the average university student in the United States: The day starts off with an alarm clock waking you up, which is quickly followed by checking social media such as Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat9Instagram和Snapchat目前在美國盛行，但還沒在中國推廣，前者以分享圖片和錄像出名，后者側重于限時圖片、文字、多媒體信息分享，用戶集中于千禧一代。, and Facebook. After you have been updated about the lives of your friends and familyvia those platforms, you can now start your day and get ready for your classes. Once in these classes, however, you are tempted by your buzzing phone and access to the internet to get in contact with those outside of your classroom walls, rather than pay attention to the lecturing professor in front of you. Then you grab lunch with some friends, only to look up from your screen to realize that no one has said a word in five minutes and instead are looking at their phones as well. Not thinking anything particularly strange about this silent scene, you continue on your phone and eventually go to the rest of your classes and complete homework that you have procrastinated10procrastinate拖延，推遲。on doing. Once the day has come to an end, you feel compelled to check all forms of social media again before finally being able to shut your eyes only to repeat this vicious cycle the next day.

[3]雖然并不是所有美國大學生都如上所述，但這幅畫面的確體現了大多數美國大學生的常態。手機相當有利于與親人保持聯系和與世界各地的新朋友建立聯系，太多的時候，人們看來是選擇這種方式交流而非言語溝通。太多的時候，青少年和年輕人會坐在桌邊用手機發短信，而不是和身邊的人互動以留下新的回憶。太多的時候，人們對著屏幕獨自暗笑，而不是和身邊的人開開玩笑，跟現實世界的親朋增進感情。我們很容易屈服于互聯網的誘惑，但大多數人并沒有意識到要為此付出代價。

[3] While that depiction may not be true for all American students, it does account for11account for說明。the mass majority. Phones can be extremely beneficial for keeping in contact with loved ones from home and forming bonds12bond聯系。with new people from all over the world, but too often it is seen that people choose this outlet over verbal communication. Too often are teenagers and young adults texting at the table rather than making new memories with the humans around them. Too often are people chuckling into screens rather than cracking jokes with13crack jokes with與人開玩笑，講笑話。those around them and fostering the bonds with those who are actually present. It is easy to succumb to14succumb to屈服于。the temptations held by the internet, but most people do not realize the cost it has.

[4]社交媒體本來是可以用來推動公益事業、傳播善意話語的?？伤部赡鼙粸E用，導致你和本應該關心的人斗嘴。“網絡霸凌”，一個前人未曾聽聞的概念，現在卻極為盛行?！癕e世代”中的許多人正在使用互聯網來嘲弄他人，程度之極端直逼底線?；ヂ摼W這個虛擬世界讓懦弱的人有了膽量。人們覺得自己在虛擬平臺的行為和言語不會造成任何后果，因為他們看不到自己的言行給他人帶來的痛苦。

[4] Rather than using the power of social media to do good and help spread words of kindness, it can be abused and used to bicker with15bicker with與人發生爭執。those that you should care about. “Cyberbullying”, a concept not present in past generations, is now an epidemic16epidemic（風尚、思潮、愛好等的)一時流行，盛行。. Many of those in “Generation Me” are using the internet to tease and ridicule others to points of extreme duress17duress脅迫。. The internet gives cowards bravery; people feel like their actions and words have no repercussions18repercussion后果。because they cannot see the ache it causes another.

[5]千禧一代也通常錯把屏幕上出現的任何信息都當作真理，而往往那些信息是不可靠的、夸大其詞的，甚至是捏造的。而這些被偽飾的“真理”通常被用來支持有誤導的看法，用作攻擊他人的武器。這里所說的看法之于千禧一代已儼然是“事實”的同義詞。在過去的幾個月中，有關特朗普總統的爭議甚囂塵上，人們在互聯網上以言論為武器肆意發布言論彼此攻擊已成家常便飯，導致大家因意見的分歧而相互“拉黑好友”。因著這些溝通誤區，社交媒體把人一個個地拘囿于其網上的個人資料頁。

[5] Millennials are also under the impression19under the impression覺得，認為。that whatever information shows up on their screens must be taken as truth, when more often than not the material is unreliable, exaggerated, or even falsi fi ed. These masked “truths” are often used to support opinions (“Opinions” being a term that millennials often fi nd to be synonymous with “facts”) that are misled and used as weapons against others. Within the last few months, as controversies over President Trumparose, swinging20swing拋出。words and opinions like weapons via the internet have become the norm on social media, leading people to “unfriend” one another over differences of opinion. Through these miscommunications, social media is confining individuals into21confine into局限于。their online pro fi les.

[6]但社交媒體并不都是不好的，而且從溝通錯位和負能量的網絡廢墟中也可以撈出金子般好的東西。比如說，人們仍然可以使用社交媒體與遠方的朋友和家人進行聯絡。這種能讓舊日友情被重新點燃的可能性正是社交媒體的極大魅力所在?；ヂ摼W把我們所有人都連接起來，這是老一輩人所不可想象的。點擊幾下按鈕，通過互聯網，一個人就可以讓另一個人笑，或者給困境中的朋友傳遞希望和鼓勵的話，或者甚至幫助修補已破碎的關系。當技術用于這些目的的時候，它并不是將一個人與另一個人隔開了，而是將他們團結到一起。最重要的是，應該以這樣的方式使用社交媒體，從而促進人與人的關系而不是阻礙。網絡空間是一種很容易陷入的漩渦，但我們必須找到一種平衡，在穿越虛擬網絡世界的同時立足于現實。 □

[6] Social media is not all bad, however, and good can be salvaged22salvage 搶救（失事船舶、火災等中的財物）。from the wreck23wreck破毀物；殘骸。of miscommunication and negativity. People are still able to use social media to connect with friends and family who live a great distance away. These rekindling of old friendships are a large part of what makes social media beautiful. The internet connects us all in a way that was unconceivable to past generations. With a few clicks of a button, someone could make another person smile, or give words of hope and encouragement to a friend in need, or even help mend a broken relationship. When technology is used for this reason, it is not barring one person from24bar from不準；禁止。the next, but instead joining them together. The most important thing is to use social media in such a way that promotes relationships, rather than hindering them. Cyber space is a vortex25vortex渦流，漩渦。that is easy to get caught up in, but we must fi nd a balance to keep both feet in reality while traversing26traverse橫越。the online world.

Millennials: Caught in Cyber Space

ByElizabeth Garis1

1 About the author: Elizabeth Garis is a twenty-year-old from New Jersey and currently a student at the University of Florida. She is majoring in Psychology, with a minor in Education, and hopes to one day become a school psychologist or guidance counselor. She truly loves to help others and wants to be an aid to students during their stressful times. Being a part of a community at college is an important part of her life right now and, it is through the influences of her peers and teachers that she is able to find her root as a student, and as a person.

伊麗莎白·加里斯今年20歲，來自美國新澤西州，現在佛羅里達大學主修心理學，輔修教育學。她希望有朝一日成為一名心理咨詢教師或輔導員，這也是她的愛好。因為她真的樂于助人，想在學生們壓力大的時候給他們提供幫助。目前來說，做好大學社區的一分子是她生活中一個重要的部分，正是在同學和老師的影響下，她才能找到作為學生和個人的歸屬感。