Facebook承认:使用社交网络可能损害心理健

Facebook Admits Social Media Can Harm Mental Health

Facebook has released new research suggesting social media can harm mental health when used in certain ways.

The research is discussed in an online report titled “Hard Questions: Is Spending Time on Social Media Bad for Us?”

Facebook’s director of research, David Ginsberg, wrote the report along with social psychologist Moira Burke. The two cooperated with psychology¹ and sociology experts and mental health professionals. Several studies were used to support the findings.

Interaction has an effect on users

Facebook said research suggested that social media users who spent a lot of time only reading information – but not interacting with others – reported feeling worse afterward². Users who had interaction during the experience reported having better feelings.

The company cited a study from the University of Michigan. It found that college students chosen to only read Facebook for 10 minutes were in a worse mood at the end of the day than those who read and posted messages or communicated with friends.

Facebook also reported a survey by the University of California San Diego and Yale. It found that people who opened at least four times as many links as average users - or who “liked” twice as many posts – reported worse mental health than average.

The report noted³ that some research makes a strong connection between technology use and teen depression. It said such problems may arise because mobile phones have redefined relationships, creating a state of people being “alone together.”

The researchers said some people become depressed⁴ by looking at social media profiles and posts of others and then making negative comparisons to themselves.

A study by Carnegie Mellon University suggested positive results for increased interaction. It found people who sent or received more messages and comments on their personal pages reported better improvements in social support, depression and loneliness.

Facebook said these improvements were even greater when the interactions took place with close friends and family.

An additional study suggested that stressed students were twice as likely to choose Facebook to make themselves feel better than to watch online videos or play video games.

Overall, Facebook said it is not just social media use that can affect a person’s well-being⁵. Rather, it believes both good and bad effects can result from how the service is used.

Critics say Facebook is exploiting users

The information on the new research came shortly after two former Facebook officials strongly criticized the social media service for its harmful effects on society.

Facebook’s founding president Sean Parker – who no longer has ties to the company – accused the social media service of using methods that “exploit” human psychology.

Parker said the goal in the early days of Facebook was to find ways to take up as much of a user’s time and attention as possible. This development model, Parker claims, created an addictive⁶ system to keep people on Facebook for long periods to seek “likes” and comments from others to make them feel good.

Former Facebook executive Chamath Palihapitiya recently told an audience that he feels guilty for helping⁷ develop Facebook when he knew deep down that “something bad could happen.” He said he now believes Facebook and other social media services provide tools that are “ripping apart” the way humans interact in society.

He said the problems are being fueled by the basic need of people to seek ongoing⁸ feedback from others. Such feedback can actually lead to the pleasure chemical dopamine being released in the brain, he added.

Palihapitiya says he has no easy solutions for how to solve these “destroying” influences of social media. In his own life, he rarely uses Facebook and said he does not allow his children to use it. In a television interview, he did say he believes Facebook is now doing more than other technology companies to address the negative effects of social media.

Cal Newport is a professor of computer science at Georgetown University in Washington D.C. He has studied and written a lot about the harmful effects of social media.

He told an online technology conference that most major social media companies now employ “attention engineers” to help design products that are as addictive as possible.

Newport cited research suggesting social media use can break up a person’s attention throughout the day. He says evidence shows that over time, this can permanently⁹ reduce an individual’s ability to fully¹⁰ concentrate, possibly limiting education and job success.

He also cited research confirming that social media use can lead to loneliness, depression and anxiety. Newport urges everyone to consider quitting social media – like he has - and he provides steps for helping people do this.

I’m Bryan Lynn.

Words in This Story

interact – v. to talk or do things with other people

mood – n. the way a person feels at a particular time

negative – adj. bad or harmful, not wanted

positive – adj. good or useful

exploit – v. to get value or use from something or use in a way that helps someone unfairly

addictive – adj. a strong and sometimes harmful need to regularly have or do something

pleasure – n. feeling of happiness or enjoyment¹¹

concentrate – v. give your full attention and thoughts to something

anxiety – n. feeling or being worried or upset

1 psychology   

n.心理，心理学，心理状态

参考例句：

• She has a background in child psychology.她受过儿童心理学的教育。
• He studied philosophy and psychology at Cambridge.他在剑桥大学学习哲学和心理学。

2 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

3 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

4 depressed   

adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的

参考例句：

• When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。
• His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。

5 well-being   

n.安康，安乐，幸福

参考例句：

• He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
• My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福，却被误解为多管闲事。

6 addictive   

adj.(吸毒等)使成瘾的，成为习惯的

参考例句：

• The problem with video game is that they're addictive.电子游戏机的问题在于它们会使人上瘾。
• Cigarettes are highly addictive.香烟很容易使人上瘾。

7 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

8 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

9 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

10 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

11 enjoyment   

n.乐趣；享有；享用

参考例句：

• Your company adds to the enjoyment of our visit. 有您的陪同，我们这次访问更加愉快了。
• After each joke the old man cackled his enjoyment.每逢讲完一个笑话，这老人就呵呵笑着表示他的高兴。