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今天的年轻人：C世代还是E世代?

Americans like to give names to generations. We call those who lived through World War II, the “Greatest Generation;” those who came of age reading the beatnik poets of the 1950s, the “Beat Generation;” those for whom the reckless investors¹ in the 1970s were role models, the “Me Generation;” and those who grew up disaffected² and cynical³ at the end of the 20th Century, “Generation X.”

美国人喜欢给世代取名字。我们称那些经历第二次世界大战的世代是“最伟大一代”，称那些在1950年代读着另类诗的人为“反传统一代”，称那些在1970年代视鲁莽投资者为榜样的人为“我世代”，还称那些在20世纪末长大的冷漠和愤世嫉俗的人为“X世代”。

But we can’t seem to agree on a name for the millions of people today - young people, especially - who are flooding the Internet with their own stories, music, films and art.

但我们似乎想不出要给今天数以百万计的人取什么名字，特别是那些将自己的故事、音乐、影片和艺术贴上网的年轻人。

A survey by the Pew Internet and American Life Project found that 44 percent of Internet users are generating creative content and posting it on the web. The survey found that it would be only a slight exaggeration in some cases to say that young people spend most of their free, waking hours on the Internet or using hand-held devices, blogging, texting or posting their original work.

皮尤中心因特网和美国生活计划的一份调查发现，44%的网路用户产出有创意的内容，并张贴到网上。调查发现，如果我们说这些年轻人大部分的空闲和醒着的时间都花在网上或用手持设备发博文、发短信、发原始作品，这样的说法在某些情况下一点都不夸张。

Some people call these do-it-yourselfers “Generation C,” for the creative content they post. Or C for “citizen media,” meaning they’re average people sharing their observations with the world. Another name some have given them is “Generation E” for “entitled,” because these folks feel they have just as much right as established writers or musicians or filmmakers to be heard.

有些人把这些自己动手的人称为“C世代”，因为他们张贴到网上的那些有创意(creative)的内容。C或指“公民媒体”(citizen media)，意思是他们只是向世界分享自己观察的普通人。另一个名字是“E世代”，E指的是有资格的(entitled)，因为这些人觉得自己跟知名的作者、音乐家或制片家一样都有被欣赏的资格。

There are programming packages that enable musicians, including those with scant⁴ musical backgrounds, to make pretty good tunes⁵ in cyberspace⁶. Others help average people create and edit films, which is work that used to require the costly⁷ skills of experts. Critically acclaimed⁸ films have been completed on budgets as low as $218!

Donnie Deutsch, who hosts a cable-TV show featuring creative Internet wizards, says Generation C or E is not an age group. It’s a mindset.

道尼.多伊奇主持一个介绍有创意的网路奇才的有线电视节目。他说，C世代或E世代不是一个年龄团体，而是一种心态。

“This is the first generation that’s saying, ‘You know what? We count,’ that ‘my opinion is as good as anyone else’s, and my ability to create music is as good as any musician’s,’” he says. “It’s kind of a crazy, brave new world.”

他说：“这是第一个世代说，‘你知道吗？我们也算数，因为我的意见跟其他人一样重要，我创作音乐的能力跟任何音乐家一样棒’。多伊奇说：“这是一个疯狂而勇敢的新世界。”

In short, readily accessible and easy-to-use technology is giving a voice to what “Generation E” may really stand for: everyday people.

总之，容易取得和容易使用的科技给了“E世代”发声的机会，E世代也许指的是常人(everyday people)。