社交媒體帶來的恐慌症大綱

Nearly half of millennials fear their addiction to social media is having a negative effect on their mental and physical health.

將近一半的千禧一代爲他們因沉迷於社交媒體對身心健康產生的消極影響感到憂慮。

A new survey by the American Psychological Association (APA) found about 90 per cent of people aged 18-29 were using social media, up from just 12 per cent in 2005.

美國心理學協會的最新研究表明，在18到29歲年齡段中有90%的人使用社交軟件，在2005年僅有12%。

The APA report said: “Technology has improved life for many Americans, and nearly half of this country’s adults say they can’t imagine life without their smartphones.

美國心理學協會報道：“科技提高了很多美國人的生活質量，有將近一半的城市成年人稱他們無法想象沒有智能手機的生活。”

“The survey showed, nearly all adults (99 per cent) own at least one electronic device (including a television). AlMost nine in 10 (86 per cent) own a computer, 74 per cent own an internet-connected smartphone and 55 per cent own a tablet.

“研究表明，幾乎所有成年人（99%）擁有至少一個電子設備（包括電視）。將近十分之九的人（86%）擁有電腦，74%的人擁有可網絡連接的智能手機，55%的人擁有平板電腦。”

“At the same time, numerous studies have described consequences of technology use, including negative impacts on physical and mental health.”

“同時，許多研究論述了使用高科技後的影響，包括對身心健康的消極影響。”

Of the social media platforms, Facebook was the most frequently visited with 79 per cent on adults using it last year.

臉書是人們最常使用的社交媒體平臺，去年有79%的成年人在使用。

In second place was Instagram with 32 per cent, then Pinterest and LinkedIn, both on 29 per cent, and Twitter with 24 per cent.

其次是Ins，有32%人使用，再有29%的人使用Pinterest和LinkedIn，有24%的人使用推特。

Many millennials, defined as those aged between 18 and 37, were concerned about how much time they were spending on social media.

許多千禧一代，指年齡在18至37歲的人，十分關心他們花了多少時間在社交媒體上。

“Almost half (48 per cent) worry about the negative effects of social media on their physical and mental health," the report said.

“將近一半（48%）的人擔心社交媒體對他們身心健康造成的消極影響。”報道說。

The researchers also identified a group of people so attached to their gadgets that they were constantly or often checking their emails, texts or social media accounts.

研究人員還發現了一部分人十分依賴他們的工具，他們經常檢查他們的郵箱、記事本或者社交媒體賬戶。

APA said: “More than a decade after the emergence of smartphones, Facebook and Twitter, a profile is emerging of the 'constant checker'. Such avid technology and social media use has paved the way for the 'constant checker', those who constantly check their emails, texts or social media accounts.”

美國心理協會說：“智能手機、臉書和推特興起後十多年，‘持續檢查者’也開始興起。這樣狂熱的科技和社交媒體流行風潮爲那些經常檢查郵箱、記事本和社交媒體賬戶的‘持續檢查者’鋪平了道路。”

These ‘constant checkers’ reported higher stress levels than their less-connected peers.

據報道，這些“持續檢查者”的壓力系數高於那些不太依賴社交媒體的人們。

On a 10-point scale, with one being little or no stress and 10 being a great deal of stress, this group reported overall stress levels of 5.3 compared to an average of 4.4.

在十分制評估模型裏，1代表很少或者沒有壓力，10代表壓力很大。這一類人的壓力系數是5.3，高於平均數值4.4。