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(gè)簡(jiǎn)單的事實(shí):據(jù)悉有發(fā)達(dá)社交生活的猴子們,由幾十個(gè)成員的小團(tuán)體組織起來。這些團(tuán)體個(gè)別的大小是有限的。為了要讓它們運(yùn)作,所有團(tuán)體成員需要深入了解彼此。團(tuán)體平均大小從二十到五十個(gè)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(dāng)團(tuán)體里的猴子數(shù)量超過特定門檻,社交秩序就會(huì)解體,該團(tuán)體傾向會(huì)分裂成兩個(gè)分開的團(tuán)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(tuán)體。社會(huì)學(xué)研究指出,人類團(tuán)體的最大自然規(guī)模是約莫150個(gè)成員。大部分的人就是無法親密地了解超過150個(gè)人。所以即使是今天,人類組織的門檻大約是150個(gè)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(lì)個(gè)體狀態(tài)。每個(gè)個(gè)體是由個(gè)人成就衡量的,像是有份工作、財(cái)富、自我形象、和消費(fèi)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(gè)行動(dòng)的過程中,許多人為了支持自我實(shí)現(xiàn)的理想,失去了他們社交及家庭的連結(jié)。當(dāng)西方世界中的社交結(jié)構(gòu)弱化,越來越多人會(huì)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(huì)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(gè)可能的原因是線上社交網(wǎng)絡(luò)。在一個(gè)時(shí)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(jiǎn)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(luò)所掩飾,那社交網(wǎng)絡(luò)提供一個(gè)讓我們最有效地管理社交生活的超棒平臺(tái)。
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(duì)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(duì)話。借由這么做,我們犧牲掉了對(duì)話,換來的只不過是連結(jié)。所以一個(gè)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(shí)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(jìn)行對(duì)話有什么困難?嗯,它即時(shí)發(fā)生,且你無法掌控你將要說些什么。那就是最重要的。簡(jiǎn)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(gè)人行銷:花數(shù)小時(shí)在線上、建立我們的個(gè)人檔案、在我們下一個(gè)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(dāng)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(luò)不只改變我們正在做的事,也改變我們的人,那是因?yàn)榭萍荚谖覀冏畲嗳醯臅r(shí)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(luò)提供我們?nèi)齻€(gè)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(yuǎn)會(huì)被傾聽。還有三,我們永遠(yuǎn)不必孤單。而那第三個(gè)概念--我們永遠(yuǎn)不必孤單--對(duì)改變我們的心理非常重要。它形塑了存在的一個(gè)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(dāng)下去分享我們的思考和感受,來運(yùn)用科技定義我們自己。此外,我們捏造經(jīng)驗(yàn)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(rèn)為,永遠(yuǎn)被連結(jié)將會(huì)讓我們感到不那么孤單。但我們處在危險(xiǎn)中,因?yàn)橄喾辞闆r是真的:如果我們不能夠獨(dú)處,我們只會(huì)體驗(yàn)到如何變得孤單。