美国国家公共电台 NPR How Smartphones Are Making Kids Unhappy

 

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

Today's teenagers are physically¹ safer than they've ever been - less likely to be in a car accident because more of them are putting off getting their driver's license², less likely to binge drink because in part they're not hanging out with friends as much. Teen birth rates are down because they're having sex later and, in general, dating a lot less. But writer Jean Twenge says the generation growing up in the glowing light of the smartphone is facing a mental health crisis. Twenge wrote about this for The Atlantic. Welcome to the program.

JEAN TWENGE: Thank you.

CORNISH: So we're talking about the generation born between 1995 and 2012. We're not calling these the millennials. You call them iGen.

TWENGE: Right. IGen is the first generation to grow up with smartphones during their adolescence³.

CORNISH: Your article has described a potential mental health crisis. And I want you to help me to understand that because you also say the teen suicide rate was actually higher in the '90s. So what is this generation facing that worries you?

TWENGE: Well, the suicide rate was higher in the '90s, but then thankfully it went down by quite a bit until about 2007. And then it began to increase again. IGen is showing mental health issues across a wide variety of indicators⁴. They're more likely than young people just five or 10 years ago to say that they're anxious, that they have symptoms of depression, that they have thought about suicide or have even tried to attempt suicide. So across the board, there's a really consistent trend with mental health issues increasing among teens beginning between 2007 and 2012.

CORNISH: So draw us the connection in terms of why. Is it specifically the smartphone? Or is it social media? Or it's just the idea of how many hours a day they're spending doing this.

TWENGE: So you look at the pattern of loneliness, it suddenly begins to increase around 2012. And the majority of Americans had a cell phone by the end of 2012. So given that using social media for more hours is linked to loneliness and that smartphones were used by the majority of Americans around 2012 and that's the same time loneliness increases, that's very suspicious. You can't absolutely prove causation, but by a bunch of different studies there is this connection between social media and spending a lot of time on social media and feeling lonely. And the - and loneliness spiked⁵ when it was constantly with you on the phone.

CORNISH: Your writing has prompted some conversation on social media already. And we've heard from teachers who say their students wish their parents hadn't given them a smartphone at 12 or 13, or kids who say, like, they're relieved if a school or a class just takes the phone away for a short period of time. How much of a factor is parenting here?

TWENGE: So I was somewhat surprised when I interviewed iGen teens how many of them are deeply aware of the negative effects of smartphones. Parenting is playing a role. I think many parents are worried about their teens driving and going out with their friends and drinking. Yet parents are often not worrying about their teen who stays at home but is on their phone all the time. They - oh, that's just how teens are. So they should be worried about that. I think parents are worried about the wrong thing.

CORNISH: Given how serious you've talked about this issue and this problem, what are some of the solutions you've come to, some ideas that can help people who are listening?

TWENGE: So the first is just awareness⁶ that spending a lot of time on the phone is not harmless and that it may take away from activities that are more beneficial for psychological well-being⁷ like spending time with people in person. Then for parents, I think it is a good idea to put off giving your child a smartphone as long as you can. And then once your teen has a smartphone, there are apps that allow parents to restrict the number of hours a day that teens are on the smartphone and also what time of day they use it. So you could have it turn off at 10 at night and not turn back on till 6 in the morning to make sure it doesn't interfere⁸ with their sleep, for example.

CORNISH: Jean Twenge is author of "iGen." That book comes out later this month. Her piece in The Atlantic is titled "Have Smartphones Destroyed A Generation?" Thanks so much.

TWENGE: Thank you.

(SOUNDBITE OF SUFF DADDY'S "DR. BANARD")

1 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

2 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

3 adolescence   

n.青春期，青少年

参考例句：

• Adolescence is the process of going from childhood to maturity.青春期是从少年到成年的过渡期。
• The film is about the trials and tribulations of adolescence.这部电影讲述了青春期的麻烦和苦恼。

4 indicators   

（仪器上显示温度、压力、耗油量等的）指针( indicator的名词复数 )； 指示物； （车辆上的）转弯指示灯； 指示信号

参考例句：

• The economic indicators are better than expected. 经济指标比预期的好。
• It is still difficult to develop indicators for many concepts used in social science. 为社会科学领域的许多概念确立一个指标仍然很难。

5 spiked   

adj.有穗的；成锥形的；有尖顶的

参考例句：

• The editor spiked the story. 编辑删去了这篇报道。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They wondered whether their drinks had been spiked. 他们有些疑惑自己的饮料里是否被偷偷搀了烈性酒。 来自辞典例句

6 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

7 well-being   

n.安康，安乐，幸福

参考例句：

• He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
• My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福，却被误解为多管闲事。

8 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。