少年，社交媒體如何“動”了我們的生活

社交媒體已經滲透到人們生活的方方面面，以飛快的速度改變影響著我們的生活。通過本文，我們來看看社交媒體對最活躍的用戶青少年產生了怎樣的影響吧。

Social media is one of the fastest-growing industries in today&apos；s interconnected world， attracting more users every day. At the forefront of this movement are teens—a Pew Research Center1） study stated 92 percent of teens report going online daily， making them the most active social media participants of any demographic2）.

"For people entering college next year， social media will be ubiquitous3）—next year&apos；s freshman class will have largely been born in 1998，" said Paul Booth， associate4） professor of media and cinema studies at DePaul University. "They will not remember a world without YouTube， Facebook or Twitter ... They&apos；re certainly more &apos；plugged in5）&apos； than earlier generations because that&apos；s the world they grew up in."

As a result of this ubiquity， teens have seen a monumental shift in nearly all facets6） of adolescent life.

在今天這個互聯的世界，社交媒體是發展最快的行業之一，每天都吸引著更多人成為其用戶。走在這一發展最前沿的是青少年——皮尤研究中心的一份研究顯示，92%的青少年反饋自己每天都會上網，這使得他們成為所有年齡段中最活躍的社交媒體使用者。

“對于明年即將進入大學的人來說，社交媒體將無處不在——明年的大一新生大多都會是1998年生人，”德保羅大學媒體及電影研究專業的副教授保羅·布思說，“他們不會記得一個沒有YouTube、Facebook和Twitter的世界……比起之前的幾代人，他們無疑更‘接電氣，因為這就是他們成長的世界?！?/p>

這種無所不在的結果就是，青少年業已見證了其青少年生活幾乎所有層面的巨大轉變。

Changing Relationships

Lyons Township junior Elly Cooper said she thinks that social media often detracts7） from face-to-face communication.

"I think it definitely makes in-person relationships harder because of people&apos；s attention given to their phones or devices instead of their friends，" Cooper said.

Beyond diminishing friends&apos； time spent together， some think there&apos；s a greater possibility for things to get lost in translation over social media.

"You also lose a more personable8） experience because if half of your relationship is over social media， you don&apos；t really know how the other person is reacting， and it may not feel as intimate as other relationships，" St. Charles East junior Sienna Schulte said.

Though there may be a greater risk for disconnect in teen relationships over social media， some argue that bonds are more easily initiated9） and accessible through the online platforms.

With this accessibility， teens are able to generate relationships with anyone， regardless of location.

Tricky Parenting

M. J. Wallace is the mother of two teens， one of whom is a Cary-Grove junior. She said she thinks social media is beneficial in the way it keeps people connected.endprint

"Family out of town gets to see as they grow up （with） activities being posted like choir， plays and stuff，" Wallace said. "Family out of town used to have to miss performances and then never got to see it."

On the other hand， Wallace said she recognizes the danger in how much teens post on social media. Future employers or college admissions officers can search and find whatever kids put online. Despite this reality， she said she doesn&apos；t actively supervise her kids&apos； social media accounts but she does try to be aware of what&apos；s going on.

"I don&apos；t have time to monitor their social media things， but I am on Facebook so if I do see something that&apos；s a little inappropriate， I will give them a call to take it down，" she said.

Wanting to Be "Liked"

The rise of social media has granted more opportunities to meet new people and begin relationships， but it also has changed the way teens view themselves and compare each other.

This trend made news recently when 19-year-old Instagram star Essena O&apos；Neill announced that she was quitting social media because it made her miserable and obsessed with appearing perfect online.

Negative posts or comments also can do great damage to a teen&apos；s self-esteem. According to a Livescience Health study， about 23 percent of teens report being targeted in some means over social media.

In particular， anonymous apps such as Yik Yak function as incredibly large and easy outlets for cyberbullying and targeting. The app allows users within a five-mile radius10） to create and add to discussion threads about anything and everything. Cooper said that teens targeted anonymously on these sites can&apos；t help but feel embarrassed and hurt.

Opening New Doors

On the other hand， Lyons Township junior Armin Korsos takes advantage of the feedback he receives over social media. Korsos runs his own YouTube channel and uses the reactions and comments to his video—positive or negative—to help him improve his channel for the future. Through social media， his videos reach people across the world.

"Social media can help people show themselves and their talents to the world in a way that has never been possible before，" Korsos said.

Nonetheless， Korsos recognizes the distraction that social media has become.

"People begin to forget that social media isn&apos；t a necessity to live，" he said. "Yes， it helps people connect with their friends and stay updated on what&apos；s going on， but it&apos；s not all necessary."endprint

人際關系發生了變化

里昂鎮高中二年級學生埃利·庫珀說她認為社交媒體常常會有損于面對面交流。

“我認為這絕對使人與人之間的關系更難，因為人們總是把注意力放在電話或其他設備上，而不是放在他們的朋友身上?！睅扃暾f。

除了使與友人相處的時間減少之外，有人還認為一些東西經過社交媒體的轉譯很有可能會丟失。

“你還會失去一種更為動人的體驗，因為如果你一半的關系都是通過社交媒體維系，那你無法真正得知對方的反應，這樣的關系可能就不會像其他關系那樣覺得親密，”圣查爾斯伊斯特高中二年級的學生西恩納·舒爾特如是說。

雖然通過社交媒體維系的青少年之間的關系中斷的風險更大，但也有人反駁說網絡平臺使得人與人之間的紐帶更容易建立和得到。

既然這么容易獲取人際紐帶，青少年能夠跟任何一個人產生人際關系，不論對方身在何處。

為人父母更加棘手

M·J·華萊士是兩個青少年的媽媽，其中一個孩子是凱麗-格拉芙高中的三年級學生。她說她認為社交媒體在讓人們保持聯系這方面還是有益的。

“由于孩子們會發關于合唱、表演還有其他活動的帖子，外地的家人現在也可以看到他們成長過程中參與的各種活動，”華萊士說，“以前外地的家人常常不得不錯過孩子的各種表演，然后就永遠沒有機會看到了?！?/p>

不過，另一方面，華萊士也說她意識到了青少年在社交媒體上發布那么多信息的危險性。未來的雇主或是大學招生官搜索一下就可以看到孩子們放在網上的所有東西。雖然如此，她還是說她并不會積極地監管孩子們的社交媒體賬戶，但會盡力了解孩子們的動態。

“我沒有時間來盯著他們社交媒體上的東西，但是我自己也用Facebook，所以如果我看到他們發了不太妥當的東西，我會給他們打個電話讓他們把東西撤掉?！彼f。

渴求“點贊”

社交媒體的興起給了人們更多機會去結識新的人，開始新的關系，但它同時也改變了青少年看待自己以及與同儕相比較的方式。

這樣的風潮最近上了新聞：19歲的Instagram紅人艾思娜·奧尼爾宣布她要退出社交媒體，因為社交媒體讓她覺得很痛苦，使她一門心思在網絡上表現得完美無缺。

負面的帖子或惡評也可以對青少年的自尊造成巨大的傷害。根據生命科學網一項健康方面的研究，大約23%的青少年自曝曾在網絡媒體上以不同方式成為被攻擊的目標。

特別是一些像Yik Yak一樣的匿名應用軟件，它們被用作了網絡暴力和網絡攻擊的大型便捷發泄渠道。這款軟件允許半徑五英里以內的用戶創建并參與關于任何事情的討論。庫珀說那些在這類網站上被匿名攻擊的青少年都不由自主地覺得尷尬和受傷。

打開新世界的大門

另一方面，里昂鎮的高三學生阿爾明·科爾索斯則會利用他從社交媒體上收到的反饋?？茽査魉惯\營他自己在YouTube上的視頻頻道，并利用大家對其視頻的反應和評論——不論是正面的還是負面的——來幫助他將來完善自己的頻道。通過社交媒體，他的視頻可直達世界各地的人面前。

“社交媒體可以幫助人們以前所未有的方式向世界展示自己和自己的天賦?！笨茽査魉拐f。

然而，科爾索斯也意識到了社交媒體引發的煩擾。

“人們開始忘記社交媒體并非生活所必需，”他說，“沒錯，社交媒體是有助于朋友之間的聯系，讓我們可以了解最新資訊，但并非所有的社交媒體都是有必要的?！?/p>

Social media has forever changed teens&apos； lives， making them more connected—and disconnected—than ever before. But for everyone labeling social networks a social disaster， professor Booth said it&apos；s just the latest change in technology. "And in 60 years， when a new form of communication technology comes out， people who are teens today may look at each other and think about how much better it was when people were texting and sending emojis back in 2016."

社交媒體已經永遠地改變了青少年的生活，前所未有地將他們聯結得更緊密——同時也讓他們更為疏離。但對于所有認為社交網絡是社交災難的人來說，布斯教授認為這不過是科技的最新變化而已：“60年后，當一種新形式的通信技術出現時，那些今天還是青少年的人也許會互相看看彼此，回想人人都在互發短信和表情符號的2016年是多么美好?！?/p>

1. Pew Research Center： 皮尤研究中心，美國的一個獨立性民調機構，對那些影響美國乃至世界的問題、態度與潮流提供信息資料，總部設于華盛頓特區。

2. demographic： 請參見P8注釋11

3. ubiquitous [ju??b?kw?t?s] adj. 無所不在的，普遍存在的

4. associate [??s?????t] adj. 副的

5. plug in： （用插頭） 與電源接通； （用導線） 和另一電器相接

6. facet [?f?s?t] n. 方面

7. detract [d??tr?kt] vi. 減損；貶低，常與from連用

8. personable [?p??s?n?bl] adj. 動人的；討人喜歡的

9. initiate [??n??ie?t] vt. 開始，發起

10. radius [?re?di?s] n. 半徑endprint