How to tell if your digital addiction is ruining your life 

数字成瘾是否毁了你的生活 

The fear that digital distractions are ruining our lives and friendships is widespread. 

大家都在担心这样一个问题：数字干扰是否会毁了我们的生活和友谊。 

To be sure, digital addiction is real. Consider the 2,600 times we touch our phones every day, our panic when we temporarily misplace a device, and how merely seeing a message alert can be as distracting as checking the message itself. 

可以肯定的是，数字成瘾是真实存在的。鉴于我们每天拿手机的频率高达2600次，当电子设备暂时性放错位置时我们会感到恐慌，而仅仅只是看一眼信息提示也与看信息本身的性质一样——分散注意力。 

This can have real consequences. For example, other people do take it personally if you stop talking to them to answer a message. And taking a break from a task to look at your cell phone precludes deep thinking on whatever you were doing. 

这可能会带来实际后果。例如，当你说话说到一半却停下来回信息的时候，别人会以为你是在针对他/她。做任务过程中休息一下玩会儿手机会打断你对手头任务的深入思考。 

But this tells only part of the story. We need to also acknowledge that today's technologies can make us more connected than ever before. So how do we avoid the potential pitfalls while still reaping the benefits? 

但这只是数字成瘾的一方面。我们还需要承认，当今的技术使我们比以往任何时候都更加紧密地联系在了一起。那么，如何在享受数字时代好处的同时避免潜在的陷阱呢？

How screens affect our interactions 

屏幕对人际交往的影响 

As a researcher in the area of technology and communications, I have spent nearly two decades looking at the ways in which interacting via screens is different from interacting in other ways, including face-to-face, on the phone and in writing. 

作为技术和通信领域的研究员，我过去近二十年都在研究通过屏幕互动与通过电话/书信/面对面互动之间的不同。 

My research group has produced study after study showing that people are more self-serving (that is, they lie more), more negative (for example, giving others lower feedback ratings) and less cooperative (more "looking out for No. 1" behavior) when they use digital means of communicating. And for children under five, there are serious concerns for brain development. 

研究小组开展的研究表明，当使用数字方式进行通讯时，人们更为自私（即说谎次数更多），更消极（例如，给其他人较低的反馈评分）以及更不配合（行事时注重“追求第一”））。对于五岁以下的儿童，我们对其大脑发育极为关注。

Our fears about the impact of increasing amounts of screen time on ourselves and our children involve three main areas: mental health, addiction and the level of engagement with what's going on around us. In all three, the risks are generally overblown. 

我们担心越来越多的屏幕时间会对自己和孩子造成影响，这主要涉及三个方面：心理健康、成瘾和对周围发生事情的参与度。实际上，这三种风险都被夸大了。 

Much has been made of the potential links between depression and cell phone use — especially in teenagers — but recent evidence seems to indicate that that link is tenuous at best. As for addiction, the field of psychology has now recognized video game addiction as a genuine and diagnosable problem. 

目前有很多关于抑郁症与手机使用存在潜在关联的研究——尤其是对于青少年而言——但最近的证据似乎表明这种关联充其量是微不足道的。关于成瘾，心理学领域现已将电子游戏成瘾视作一种真实存在且可诊断的疾病。