時事新聞:發手機短信會讓孩子變笨？

【英文原文】

For Teens, Has Texting Replaced Talking?
I've always known my kids use digital communications gear a lot. But my cellphone bill last month really grabbed my attention.

My son had racked up nearly 2,000 incoming text messages, and had sent nearly as many. That means he was having more than 60 two-way communications via text message every day. Of course, he was out of school for the summer and communicating more with friends from a distance. Nevertheless, I had to wonder how he found time to hold down a summer job and complete a college course in between all that typing with his thumb.

I was even more surprised to learn that my son is normal. Teenagers with cellphones each send and receive 2,272 text messages a month on average, Nielsen Mobile says.

Some experts lament that all that keyboard jabber is making our kids stupid unable to read nonverbal cues such as facial expressions, gestures, posture and other silent signals of mood and attitude. Unlike phones, text messaging doesn't even allow transmission of tone of voice or pauses, says Mark Bauerlein, author of a book called 'The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future.'

States are cracking down on drivers who text, and rightly so. My son doesn't text while driving, and we have discussed the dangers. (This graphic public service announcement, which has recently gone viral on YouTube, highlights just how dangerous texting while driving can be.)

Beyond that, though, I'm not sure I see as much harm as critics of this trend. I've posted before on how I initially tried to curb my kids' texting. But over time, I have seen my son suffer no apparent ill effects (except a sore thumb now and then), and he reaps a big benefit, of easy, continuing contact with many friends. Also, the time he spends texting replaces the hours teens used to spend on the phone; both my kids dislike talking on the phone, and say they really don't need to do so to stay in touch with friends and family.

Does texting make kids stupid? I don't think so. It may make them annoying, when they try to text and talk to you at the same time. And it may make them distracted, when buzzing text messages interrupt efforts to noodle out a calculus problem or finish reading for school.

But I don't see texting harming teens' ability to communicate. My son is as attuned to nonverbal cues as any older members of our family. If anything, I have found him more engaged and easier to communicate with from afar, because he is constantly available via text message and responds with a faithfulness and speed that any mother would find reassuring.

Readers, how has text messaging affected the quality of communication in your family, if at all? Am I too complacent about all the texting?

【中文譯文】

一直以來，我知道我的孩子們頻繁使用數字通信設備。但上個月我的手機帳單還是引起了我的注意。

我的兒子上個月收到了將近2,000條短信息，他也發送了數量相近的短信息。這意味着他每天要通過短信進行60次雙向通信。當然，上個月兒子正在放暑假，會更多的和朋友們進行聯繫。不過，我還是想知道他是如何在這麼多的打字活動中保住了暑期工，還完成了大學課程。

AFP/Getty Images
更令我驚訝的是，我兒子的情況居然是普遍現象。市場調研公司Nielsen Mobile的數據顯示，擁有手機的美國青少年每個月平均要發送和接收2,272條短信息。

一些專家感嘆道，這些鍵盤閒聊正在讓我們的孩子變笨，導致他們無法領會諸多非語言線索，例如面部表情、動作、姿勢以及其他反映情緒和態度的無聲信號。馬克•鮑爾倫(Mark Bauerlein)撰有《最蠢的一代：數字時代是如何讓年輕美國人變笨並危害到我們的未來》(The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future)一書。他表示，和打電話不同，短信息甚至無法傳遞語調或停頓。

目前美國各州正在打擊開車發短信行爲，此舉真是明智。我兒子開車的時候不發短信，我們已經就這個問題的危險性進行了討論。（一則公益廣告最近在YouTube網站廣泛流傳，彰顯出了開車發短信是多麼危險。）

但除此之外，我不覺得自己像批評人士那樣認爲這一趨勢有多大的危害性。我曾經寫到自己一開始是如何試圖對孩子們發短信的行爲作出限制的。但隨着時間的推移，我沒發現我兒子遭受了明顯的不利影響（除了拇指偶爾發酸），但他也享受到了與很多朋友保持持續輕鬆聯絡的極大便利。此外，他花在短信上的時間也取代了過去青少年褒電話粥的時間，我的孩子們都不喜歡打電話，他們也確實不需要通過電話來和朋友及家人保持聯繫。

發短信會讓孩子們變笨？我不這麼認爲。也許，當他們一邊發短信一邊和你說話的時候，可能會讓你覺得惱火。收到信息的手機聲響可能會讓他們分心，影響他們解一道微積分數學題或讀完課外閱讀材料。

但我不認爲發短信會損害孩子的溝通能力。我兒子對非語言暗示的理解能力不遜於我家任何比他年長的人。如果說有什麼不同，那就是我發現，他更樂於以及更容易與人遠距離溝通，因爲隨時可以通過短信與他聯繫到，而且他也會迅速對短信做出迴應，這足以令任何母親感到欣慰。

讀者們，短信如何影響了你的家庭溝通質量？還是一點影響也沒有？我是不是對短信問題太不在乎了？