第3173期:Is social media still 'social'?

For many people, social media is a normal part of everyday life. It's used to keep in touch, entertain and follow what's happening in the world. But numbers from DataReportal indicate that the average use of social media is around two hours 21 minutes a day. That's nearly 15 hours per week or about 32 days a year! The same report also mentions that people are using social media more passively. This means they're spending a lot of time scrolling on their feed, sending memes and reacting to things with emojis instead of sending messages. Could it be that social media platforms are negatively impacting the way we interact with people, and are they taking time away from us actually being social?

对于许多人来说，社交媒体是日常生活的正常组成部分。 它用于保持联系、娱乐和关注世界上发生的事情。 但 DataReportal 的数据显示，社交媒体的平均使用时间每天约为 2 小时 21 分钟。 这相当于每周近 15 小时或每年约 32 天！ 同一份报告还提到，人们使用社交媒体的方式更加被动。 这意味着他们花费大量时间滚动浏览动态、发送模因以及使用表情符号对事物做出反应，而不是发送消息。 社交媒体平台是否会对我们与人互动的方式产生负面影响，并且它们是否会占用我们实际社交的时间？

One study looked at what happened when social media was deliberately limited. In The effect of self-monitoring limited social media use on psychological well-being, researchers in the United States studied 230 university students. One group was asked to limit social media use to 30 minutes a day, while the other continued without a limit. After two weeks, the group limiting its use reported lower levels of loneliness, depression, anxiety and FOMO.

一项研究着眼于故意限制社交媒体时会发生什么。 在《自我监控限制社交媒体使用对心理健康的影响》一书中，美国研究人员对 230 名大学生进行了研究。 一组被要求将社交媒体的使用时间限制在每天 30 分钟，而另一组则继续无限制。 两周后，限制其使用的小组报告称，孤独、抑郁、焦虑和 FOMO 水平较低。

Sleep is another part of the picture. For many people, scrolling through social media has become part of their bedtime routine when they should be winding down to rest. Research published by the National Library of Medicine has examined the effects of blue light from electronic screens. This light can affect the body's natural sleep-wake cycle and increase alertness. Reducing screen time before bed may therefore help some people prepare for sleep. Better sleep can also provide more energy for work, hobbies and lay the groundwork for more successful and fulfilling face-to-face social interactions.

睡眠是问题的另一部分。 对于许多人来说，浏览社交媒体已经成为他们睡前例行公事的一部分，而此时他们应该放松下来休息。 国家医学图书馆发表的研究检查了电子屏幕蓝光的影响。 这种光可以影响身体的自然睡眠-觉醒周期并提高警觉性。 因此，减少睡前看屏幕的时间可能有助于一些人为睡眠做好准备。 更好的睡眠还可以为工作和爱好提供更多能量，并为更成功、更充实的面对面社交互动奠定基础。

These findings do not necessarily mean that you have to completely quit social media. Instead, it may be worth considering how much time is being spent online, and