中國網站品牌欄目（頻道）
|
 Vain generation: A top Oxford scientist has warned that repeated exposure to social networking websites could harm users. |
|
Facebook and Twitter have created a generation obsessed with themselves, who have short attention spans and a childlike desire for constant feedback on their lives, a top scientist believes. Repeated exposure to social networking sites leaves users with an 'identity crisis', wanting attention in the manner of a toddler saying: 'Look at me, Mummy, I've done this.' Baroness Greenfield, professor of pharmacology at Oxford University, believes the growth of internet 'friendships' – as well as greater use of computer games – could effectively 'rewire' the brain. This can result in reduced concentration, a need for instant gratification and poor non-verbal skills, such as the ability to make eye contact during conversations. More than 750million people across the world use Facebook to share photographs and videos and post regular updates of their movements and thoughts. Millions have also signed up to Twitter, the 'micro-blogging' service that lets members circulate short text and picture messages about themselves. Baroness Greenfield, former director of research body the Royal Institution, said: 'What concerns me is the banality of so much that goes out on Twitter. 'Why should someone be interested in what someone else has had for breakfast? It reminds me of a small child (saying): “Look at me Mummy, I'm doing this”, “Look at me Mummy I'm doing that”. 'It's almost as if they're in some kind of identity crisis. In a sense it's keeping the brain in a sort of time warp.' The academic suggested that some Facebook users feel the need to become 'mini celebrities' who are watched and admired by others on a daily basis. They do things that are 'Facebook worthy' because the only way they can define themselves is by 'people knowing about them'. 'It's almost as if people are living in a world that's not a real world, but a world where what counts is what people think of you or (if they) can click on you,' she said. 'Think of the implications for society if people worry more about what other people think about them than what they think about themselves.' (Read by Christine Mallari. Christine Mallari is a journalist at the China Daily Website.) (Agencies) |
一位頂尖科學家認為，Facebook和Twitter令新一代人變得自戀、注意力短暫，而且像小朋友那樣，渴望得到別人對他們生活的持續回應。 長時間沉迷在社交網絡里使用戶們產生了“身份認同危機”，就像一個渴望被注意的幼童那樣呼喚著：“媽媽，看，我做了這個！” 牛津大學藥理學教授貝洛尼斯?格林菲爾德認為，網絡“友誼”的增長以及電腦游戲的風行，會有效地“改裝”人的大腦。 這會導致人的注意力縮短，得到即時滿足的需求增加，非語言表達能力變差，比如在對話過程中的眼神交流能力。 全世界有7.5億多人用Facebook來分享照片、視頻，定期更新他們的行蹤和思緒。還有上百萬人注冊了微博Twitter，可以在上面發布與自己有關的短信息和照片。 貝洛尼斯?格林菲爾德曾是英國皇家學院研究機構的主任，他說：“令我擔憂的是Twitter上充斥著太多的陳詞濫調。” “別人早飯吃了什么，這有什么好值得感興趣的？這讓我想起一個小孩一會兒說：‘看我，媽媽，我正在做這個’，一會兒又說‘看我，媽媽，我在做那個’。 “他們好像陷入了某種身份認同危機。從某種意義上說，這似乎讓他們的大腦產生了時間錯位。” 這位學者暗示有的Facebook用戶們想要變成“微名人”，成天被他人注目，受他人羨慕。他們做著一些“在Facebook上有價值”的事情，因為他們定義自己的唯一方式就是“讓人們認識自己”。 她說：“人們似乎不是活在真實的世界里，而是活在一個只有別人如何看待你或是否會點擊你的頁面才重要的世界里。” “如果人們擔憂別人怎么看待自己要比自己怎么看待自己來得更多，想想這將給社會帶來什么影響。” 相關閱讀 （中國日報網英語點津 實習生沈清 編輯：陳丹妮） |
|
Vocabulary: obsessed: 著迷的，癡迷的，迷戀的。 toddler: a child who has only recently learnt to walk（學步的兒童；剛學會走路的孩子） pharmacology: the scientific study of drugs and their use in medicine（藥物學；藥理學） rewire: to put new electrical wires into a building or piece of equipment 給（建筑物或設備）換新電線。文中是比喻用法。 gratification: the state of feeling pleasure when something goes well for you or when your desires are satisfied; something that gives you pleasure（滿足；滿意） non-verbal: not involving words or speech（不涉及言語的；非言語的） circulate: to send goods or information to all the people in a group（傳送） banality: the quality of being banal; things, remarks, etc. that are banal（平庸；平淡乏味；陳腐的事物；陳詞濫調） time warp: an imaginary situation, described, for example, in science fiction, in which it is possible for people or things from the past or the future to move to the present 時間錯位（如科幻小說中所描述的過去或將來的人或事都可能移到現在） |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
