A simple fact: monkeys that are known to have a developed social life, organize in small groups with several dozen members. The size of each of these groups is limited. In order for them to function, all members of the group need to know each other well. The average size of the group changes from 20 to 50 members.
一個簡單的事實:據(jù)悉有發(fā)達社交生活的猴子們,由幾十個成員的小團體組織起來。這些團體個別的大小是有限的。為了要讓它們運作,所有團體成員需要深入了解彼此。團體平均大小從二十到五十個成員之間不等。
When the number of monkeys in a group passes certain threshold, the social order crumbles, and the group tends to split into two separate groups. A similar situation can be found amongst humans as well.
當團體里的猴子數(shù)量超過特定門檻,社交秩序就會解體,該團體傾向會分裂成兩個分開的團體。相似的情況也可以在人類之中發(fā)現(xiàn)。
The invention of language and gossip has helped shape larger and more stable groups. Sociological research indicates that the maximum natural size of a group of humans is roughly 150 members. Most humans are just incapable of intimately knowing more than 150 people. So even today, the threshold of a human organization is around the number of 150 members.
語言和流言蜚語的發(fā)明幫助形塑了更大且更穩(wěn)固的團體。社會學研究指出,人類團體的最大自然規(guī)模是約莫150個成員。大部分的人就是無法親密地了解超過150個人。所以即使是今天,人類組織的門檻大約是150個成員。
Man is a social creature, and the feeling of loneliness can drive them mad. Yet the western and modern world sanctions individuality. The individual is measured by personal achievements, such as having a career, wealth, a self-image, and consumerism.
人類是種群居生物,而孤單的感受可以讓他們發(fā)瘋。然而西方和現(xiàn)代世界鼓勵個體狀態(tài)。每個個體是由個人成就衡量的,像是有份工作、財富、自我形象、和消費主義。
In this course of action, many people lose their social and familial connections in favor of self-actualization ideal. As a social fabric in the western world weakens, it is not surprising that more and more people define themselves as lonely. And thus, loneliness has become the most common ailment of the modern world.
在這個行動的過程中,許多人為了支持自我實現(xiàn)的理想,失去了他們社交及家庭的連結。當西方世界中的社交結構弱化,越來越多人會將自己定義成孤單并不令人訝異。因此,孤單已成了現(xiàn)代社會中最普遍的疾病。
One of the possible reasons for this ailment is the online social network. In a world where time is money, in which our surroundings heavily pressure us to achieve more and more, our social life becomes tainted and more demanding than ever before.
這種疾病其中一個可能的原因是線上社交網(wǎng)絡。在一個時間就是金錢的世界里,在其中我們的環(huán)境用力迫使我們?nèi)コ删透喔啵覀兊纳缃簧钭兊脡櫬?,且比以往更加苛求?/p>
And then there's technology: simpler, hopeful, optimistic, ever young. We become addicted to virtual romance, disguised by the social network which supplies an impressive platform that allows us to manage our social life most effectively.
然后出現(xiàn)了科技:更簡單、有希望、樂觀、非常年輕。我們變得沉迷于虛擬戀情,被社交網(wǎng)絡所掩飾,那社交網(wǎng)絡提供一個讓我們最有效地管理社交生活的超棒平臺。
However, our fantasies about substitutions are starting to take a toll. We're collecting friends like stamps, not distinguishing quantity from quality, and converting the deep meaning and intimacy of friendship with exchanging in photos and chat conversations. By doing so, we're sacrificing conversation for mere connection. And so a paradoxical situation is created, in which we claim to have many friends while actually being lonely.
然而,我們對于替代品的幻想開始造成傷害。我們像集郵一樣收集朋友,不去分辨(注一)量與質(zhì),并將友誼深入的意義和親密度轉(zhuǎn)變成交換照片和網(wǎng)路聊天對話。借由這么做,我們犧牲掉了對話,換來的只不過是連結。所以一個矛盾的情形產(chǎn)生了,這種情況下我們宣稱有很多朋友,然而實際上卻是孤單的。
So what is the problem in having a conversation? Well, it takes place in real time, and you can't control what you're gonna say. And that is the bottom line. Texting, email, posting, all of these things let us present the self as we want it to be. We get to edit, and that means we get to delete.
所以進行對話有什么困難?嗯,它即時發(fā)生,且你無法掌控你將要說些什么。那就是最重要的。簡訊、電子郵件、貼文、所有這些事讓我們表現(xiàn)出我們想要成為的自己。我們得以編輯,那表示我們得以刪除。
Instead of building true friendships, we're obsessed with endless personal promotion: investing hours on-net, building our profile, pursuing the optimal order of words in our next message, choosing the pictures in which we look our best, all of which is meant to serve as the desirable image of who we are. We're expecting more from technology and less from each other.
我們沒有建立真正的友誼,而是著迷于無止盡的個人行銷:花數(shù)小時在線上、建立我們的個人檔案、在我們下一個訊息中追求完美的文字排序、選出我們看起來最美的照片,所有這些都是為了當作我們自己最滿意的形象。我們期望從科技得到更多、從彼此得到更少。
The social networks aren't just changing what we're doing but also who we are, and that's because technology appeals to us most where we're most vulnerable.
社交網(wǎng)絡不只改變我們正在做的事,也改變我們的人,那是因為科技在我們最脆弱的時候最吸引我們。
And we are vulnerable, we are lonely, but we are afraid of intimacy, while the social networks offer us three gratifying fantasies: One, that we can put our attention wherever we want it to be. Two, that we'll always be heard. And three, that we will never have to be alone. And that third idea—that we will never have to be alone—is central to changing our psyches. It's shaping a new way of being. The best way to describe it is "I share. Therefore, I am."
而且我們很脆弱、我們很孤單,但我們害怕親密,然而社交網(wǎng)絡提供我們?nèi)齻€令人滿意的幻想:一,我們可將注意力放在任何我們想要的地方。二、我們永遠會被傾聽。還有三,我們永遠不必孤單。而那第三個概念--我們永遠不必孤單--對改變我們的心理非常重要。它形塑了存在的一個新方式。最好的形容方式是:“我分享,故我在。”
We use technology to define ourselves by sharing our thoughts and feelings even as we're having them. Furthermore, we're faking experiences so we'll have something to share, so we can feel alive. We slip into thinking that always being connected is going to make us feel less alone. But we are at risk because the opposite is true: If we are not able to be alone, we are only going to know how to be lonely.
我們借著甚至在擁有的當下去分享我們的思考和感受,來運用科技定義我們自己。此外,我們捏造經(jīng)驗好讓我們有一些東西事可以分享,所以我們可以感受自己還活著。我們一股腦兒地認為,永遠被連結將會讓我們感到不那么孤單。但我們處在危險中,因為相反情況是真的:如果我們不能夠獨處,我們只會體驗到如何變得孤單。