The Reason You Should Call Instead of Texting 為什么打電話比發信息好?

So many things can keep you from seeing your missed ones in person， from busy schedules to long distances to a rather unexpected pandemic. Fortunately， thanks to modern technology， the people we miss are often only a phone call or text message away. But if youre someone whos more prone to typed out messages than verbal ones， you may want to reconsider. According to scientific research， if you want to feel more connected to the people youre talking to， you should call them instead of texting.

繁忙的日程、遙遠的距離、突如其來的疫情，太多的事情阻止你去見你所想見的人。幸運的是我們有現代科技，只要一通電話或一條短信就能聯系上我們想念的人。但如果你更傾向于發短信而不是打電話，你可能需要重新考慮一下。科學研究告訴我們，如果你想和交談的人感覺更親近，你應該給他們打電話，而不是發短信。

A new study， published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology， found that communication interactions that included voice， like a phone call or video chat， created stronger social bonds than communication through typing， like text messaging or email.

發表在美國《實驗心理學雜志》（美國心理學會主辦的心理學專業期刊）上的一項新研究發現，打電話或視頻聊天等包含語音的通信互動比發短信和電子郵件等打字通信方式更能加強社交紐帶關系。

In the study， researchers used various experiments to gauge connectedness. In one， they asked 200 people to make predictions about what it would be like to reconnect with an old friend by email or by phone and then assigned people at random to do one or the other. Although people anticipated that a phone call would be more awkward， hearing someones voice actually made the experience better.

在這項研究中，研究人員運用了各種實驗來衡量紐帶關系。在其中一項實驗中，他們請200個人預想通過電郵或打電話重新和一個老朋友取得聯系的場景，然后隨機指派人們發電郵或打電話。盡管人們預期打電話會更尷尬，但聽到對方的聲音實際上會讓體驗更好。

“People reported they did form a significantly stronger bond with their old friend on the phone versus email， and they did not feel more awkward，” study co-author Amit Kumar， an assistant professor of marketing at the McCombs School of Business， said in a statement.

研究報告的合著者，美國麥康姆商學院營銷學助理教授阿米特·庫馬爾在一份聲明中稱：“研究人員的報告稱，相比發電郵，他們與老朋友打電話可以建立起更強的紐帶關系，而且并不會感到更尷尬。”

In another experiment， the researchers had strangers connect by either texting， talking over video chat， or talking using only audio. They found that both forms of voice communication—whether video or audio only—made the strangers feel significantly more connected than when they communicated via text.

在另一個實驗中，研究人員讓陌生人通過發短信、視頻聊天或語音聊天來聯絡。他們發現，無論是視頻還是語音聊天，這兩種語音通信方式都比發短信更能顯著增強陌生人之間的紐帶關系。

Sabrina Romanoff， a Harvard trained clinical psychologist based in New York City says， “People tend to text or email instead of calling because of convenience， as they see it as a controlled form of communication where they can correspond information exactly in the way they intend without unexpected additions by the other person.”

哈佛大學畢業的紐約臨床心理學家塞布麗娜·羅曼諾夫表示：“為了方便，人們傾向于發短信或電子郵件，而不是打電話，因為他們將短信和電郵視為可控的通信方式，可以精確地發送自己想傳達的信息，而不會受到另一個人意外插話的干擾。”

Romanoff says that in reality， texting can make it hard to determine the true meaning behind a conversation. “A phone call is actually more convenient when considering the net effects of the message，”she explains. “Each party is more present， and therefore， able to gauge the meaning behind the content without ruminating on the endless possible meanings behind words and punctuation.”

羅曼諾夫指出，事實上，發短信會讓人難以確定對話背后的真實含義。她解釋道：“如果想保證信息傳達的效果，打電話其實更方便。雙方都在，因此能理解對話內容背后的含義，而不用沒完沒了地反思詞句和標點背后的潛在含義。”

Word Bank

prone /pr??n/ adj. 易于……的;有……傾向的

Hes prone to flit between subjects with amazing ease.

gauge /ɡe?d?/ v. （用儀器）測量;評估，判斷

Can you gauge what her reaction is likely to be？

ruminate /'ru?m?ne?t/ v. 沉思; 反復考慮

It is worthwhile to ruminate over his remarks.