But, humanity was weak, and they suffered greatly.

但是，人性的弱點，他們也深受其害。

To empower us in our struggle against nature, Prometheus stole a divine technology from

為了增強我們與自然鬥爭的能力，普羅米修斯偷取了一項神技，即 "神技"。

the gods and gifted it to us: fire.

諸神賜予我們：火。

Prometheus had defied the gods in service of humanity; he defied the strong to serve

普羅米修斯為了服務於人類，不惜藐視神靈；為了服務於人類，他不惜藐視強者。

the weak.

弱者。

But defiance and change come at a price, and the powerful do not always submit without

但是，反抗和變革是要付出代價的，強者不一定都會無條件地服從

a fight.

一場戰鬥。

Prometheus was bound to a rock for eternity, where upon an eagle would descend upon him

普羅米修斯被永遠地綁在一塊岩石上 在那裡，一隻老鷹會降臨到他身上

each day and eat his liver.

每天吃他的肝。

In generation after generation, the spirit of Prometheus returns to us and brings us

在一代又一代的人中，普羅米修斯的精神回到了我們身邊，帶給我們的是

fire.

火。

Fire has the capacity to keep us warm and cook our food, but it also has capacity to

火能讓我們取暖、煮食，但它也能

create weapons and destroy us.

製造武器並摧毀我們。

We continually have to learn how to master it and use it carefully, or we risk self-destruction.

我們要不斷學習如何掌握它，並認真使用它，否則就會有自我毀滅的危險。

In today's essay, we explore the latest reincarnation of this story: social media.

在今天的文章中，我們探討了這個故事的最新輪迴：社交媒體。

Edward Lytton said that “the pen is mightier than the sword.”

愛德華-萊頓說過，"筆比劍更強大"。

Ideas have a greater potental at changing the world than force.

思想比武力更能改變世界。

It's only in defence of our ideas, or our beliefs, that we choose to raise swords in

只是為了捍衛我們的理念，或者說我們的信仰，我們才會選擇舉劍相向

the first place.

首先。

For generations, ideas were limited to transmission by books.

歷代以來，思想的傳播僅限於書本。

Books are limited in time and space.

書籍在時間和空間上是有限的。

There's a limit to how fast they can spread ideas.

他們傳播思想的速度是有限的。

But, the internet travels at the speed of light.

但是，互聯網的傳播速度是光速的。

The rate at which ideas can now spread is unprecedented.

現在思想的傳播速度是前所未有的。

If the pen is mightier than the sword, is the internet mightier than the bomb?

如果說筆比劍厲害，那麼網絡比炸彈厲害嗎？

And, if ideas truly are more powerful than force, we should use them constructively and

而且，如果思想真的比武力更有力量，我們應該建設性地使用它們，並且要有足夠的力量。

not destructively — in so far as that's possible.

不是破壞性的--在可能的情況下。

While the entirety of the internet is worth discussing, today we're going to be looking

雖然整個互聯網都值得討論，但今天我們要看的是

at a more basic, yet universal, aspect of it: social media.

在一個更基本但又普遍的方面：社交媒體。

A report done by the Royal Society for Public Health states that social media usage is associated

英國皇家公共衛生協會所做的一份報告指出，社交媒體的使用是與

with increased rates of anxiety, depression, poor sleep quality, body image issues, and

焦慮、抑鬱、睡眠品質差、身體形象問題和

cyberbullying.

網絡欺凌。

In fact, rates of anxiety and depression in young people have increased by 70% in the

事實上，青少年的焦慮和抑鬱症的比率在過去一年增加了70%。

last 25 years.

過去25年。

Body image issues are a problem for both genders, but 9 in 10 teenage girls say that they are

身體形象問題對男女都是一個問題，但10個少女中就有9個說自己是個 "大男孩"。

unhappy with their body.

對自己的身體不滿意。

7 out of 10 teens have experienced cyberbullying and 37% say they experience it very frequently.

每10個青少年中就有7個經歷過網絡欺凌，37%的人說他們經常經歷。

The report found that Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat have an overall negative effect

報告發現，Facebook、Twitter、Instagram和Snapchat整體上有負面效應。

on the well-being of the younger generation.

對年輕一代的福祉的影響。

For this reason, people are increasingly deciding to take a break from social media or walk

出於這個原因，人們越來越多地決定從社交媒體上休息一下，或者是步行

away completely.

徹底消失。

The benefits are often not worth the costs.

往往得不償失。

But, social media also helps us express ourselves, connect with others, and get access to high-quality

但是，社交媒體也幫助我們表達自己，與他人聯繫，並獲得高質量的

information.

資料：

Youtube, for example, was found to have a net positive effect on well-being and even

例如，Youtube被發現對幸福感有淨積極影響，甚至是

help those who feel anxious, depressed, or lonely.

幫助那些感到焦慮、抑鬱或孤獨的人。

Although, it still has its fair share of downsides.

雖然，它還是有一定的弊端。

Social media also plays an important role in activism such as in the 2011 Egyptian revolution.

社交媒體在活動中也發揮了重要作用，如2011年的埃及革命。

Oppressive regimes often try to prevent and control the flow of information, so they can

壓迫性的政權往往試圖防止和控制資訊的流動，這樣他們就可以： 1.

control the people.

控制人民。

Social media can be leveraged to bypass this sort of totalitarian control.

可以利用社交媒體來繞過這種極權控制。

Whether you think social media is good or bad, you're right.

無論你認為社交媒體是好是壞，你都是對的。

It's a flame, and we're still learning to contain and master it.

它是一團火焰，我們還在學習如何控制和掌握它。

But, the current dialogue about social media is very low resolution.

但是，目前關於社交媒體的對話分辨率很低。

People shouldn't have to leave these revolutionary technologies behind, but they also shouldn't

人們不應該拋開這些革命性的技術，但他們也不應該

suffer negative impacts to their well-being by using them.

使用它們對他們的福祉造成不利影響；

Social media is often referred to as a tool, and it is.

社交媒體常被稱為工具，它是。

Tools are things that help us accomplish goals.

工具是幫助我們完成目標的東西。

But, this low-resolution comparison is actually pretty misleading.

但是，這種低分辨率的對比，其實是很有誤導性的。

Social media is a tool, but it's not a tool in the same way a hammer is.

社交媒體是一種工具，但它和錘子一樣不是工具。

It's much more like a city.

它更像一個城市。

Think about how much land there is on the Earth.

想想地球上有多少土地？

But, we choose to live in relatively small areas of land called cities.

但是，我們選擇在相對較小的土地上生活，稱為城市。

A city is a high density container for social interactions; it allows us to get anything

城市是一個高密度的社會交往容器，它讓我們可以得到任何東西。

we need or want easier than we would if we had to do it alone.

我們需要或想要的比我們單獨做更容易。

Cities are like living tools or organisms: they grow, evolve, and even die.

城市就像有生命的工具或生物體：它們會成長、進化，甚至死亡。

Think about how many webpages there are on the worldwide web.

想一想全球網絡上有多少網頁。

But, we all choose to occupy a relatively small set of them called social media.

但是，我們都選擇佔據其中相對較小的一組，叫做社交媒體。

Social media sites are also high density containers for social interactions.

社交媒體網站也是社交互動的高密度容器。

So, if we want to understand social media, we should start by understanding cities.

所以，如果我們想了解社會化媒體，應該從瞭解城市開始。

A city is made up of two worlds: a world of ideas and a world of technology.

一個城市是由兩個世界組成的：一個是思想的世界，一個是技術的世界。

The world of ideas is the world of culture.

思想的世界就是文化的世界。

Culture contains stories, myths, or narratives that unite the people, describe what they

文化包含了故事、神話或敘事，這些故事、神話或敘事將人們團結在一起，描述了他們的生活。

value, and prescribe how to act.

價值，並規定如何行動。

Take the founding myth of Rome for example.

以羅馬的建國神話為例。

Most variations of the myth say that Romulus killed his own brother, Remus, in order to

大多數神話的變體都說羅慕路斯殺了他的親弟弟雷穆斯，為了。

found Rome.

發現羅馬。

One interpretation of this myth is that it's a reminder to the Romans that the glory of

對這一神話的一種解釋是，它是在提醒羅馬人，榮耀的。

Rome is more important than even the love for your own brother.

羅馬甚至比對自己兄弟的愛更重要。

The world of ideas and values manifests itself in the technology of the city.

思想和價值的世界體現在城市的技術上。

The technology embodies the story and helps perpetuate it.

技術體現了故事，並幫助延續了故事。

Technology makes the story easier to live out.

科技讓故事更容易活出來。

Growing up in Sparta would have been way different from growing up in Athens.

在斯巴達長大和在雅典長大是完全不同的。

In one, the highest ideal was the soldier.

其中，最高理想是軍人。

The entire city was designed to facilitate the achievement of this ideal.

整個城市的設計就是為了促進這一理想的實現。

In the other, the highest ideal is something like the well-educated citizen, and the city

在另一個方面，最高的理想是類似於受過良好教育的市民，和城市的東西

was designed to faciliate the achievement of this ideal.

旨在幫助實現這一理想。

Sparta might have had more barracks and training grounds, while Athens might have had more

斯巴達可能有更多的兵營和訓練場，而雅典可能有更多的。

schools.

學校：

Of course, it's likely that the true culture and technology of each city is more nuanced

當然，每個城市的真實文化和技術可能會更加細微

than I am making it out to be, but this is just to demonstrate a point: every city is

比我說的要好，但這只是為了證明一個觀點：每個城市都是

built upon a story.

建立在一個故事之上。

Citizens that are born or live in that city learn this story, explicity or implicitly,

在該城市出生或生活的市民，都會或明或暗地瞭解這個故事。

so that they can grow and thrive.

以便他們能夠成長壯大。

A good story is useful to us; it helps us act in a way that is beneficial.

一個好的故事對我們來說是有用的，它能幫助我們以一種有益的方式行事。

Technology makes certain actions easier.

技術讓某些行動變得更容易。

When certain actions become easier, the story they are a part of becomes more believable.

當某些行動變得更容易時，它們所參與的故事就會變得更加可信。

The person who controls the story controls the people, and with the right technology,

掌控故事的人掌控人，只要有合適的技術。

certain stories are easier to believe.

某些故事更容易相信。

If social media is a city, what story is it built on?

如果說社交媒體是一座城，那麼它建立在什麼故事上？

If Sparta is designed to produce soldiers and Athens to produce well-educated citizens,

如果斯巴達是為了培養阿兵哥，雅典是為了培養受過良好教育的公民。

what is social media designed to produce?

社會化媒體旨在產生什麼？

I think the answer is the consumer.

我認為答案是消費者。

Social media tries to produce individuals who watch everything, read everything, and

社交媒體試圖培養出那些什麼都看、什麼都讀的人，並。

click on everything — that is their highest ideal.

點擊一切--這是他們的最高理想。

This story is probably best embodied in a technology you're familiar with: the newsfeed.

這個故事可能最能體現在你熟悉的技術上：新聞聯播。

Newsfeeds are designed to watch your interactions and maximize the amount of time you spend

Newsfeeds的設計是為了觀察你的互動，並最大化你的時間。

on them.

在他們身上。

They do this by adapting to you.

他們通過適應你來做到這一點。

To evolve, they continually have to give us novel stimuli and see how we react to it.

為了進化，它們不斷地要給我們新奇的刺激，看我們對它的反應。

In other words, they are always presenting us with the unknown.

換句話說，他們總是在向我們展示未知的東西。

Humans have an interesting relationship with the unknown.

人類與未知的事物有著有趣的關係。

We are drawn to it.

我們被它所吸引。

We need to categorize it.

我們需要對它進行分類。

The unknown always presents an opportunity for reward and growth, but it also presents

未知的東西總是給人帶來回報和成長的機會，但也給人帶來了

an opportunity for punishment and death.

懲罰和死亡的機會。

You see, humans have an innate negativity bias.

你看，人類有一種天生的消極性偏見。

Negative things capture our attention more than positive things.

負面的東西比正面的東西更能吸引我們的注意力。

This is because negative things can end us, while positive things can just make our lives

這是因為消極的事情可以終結我們，而積極的事情只是讓我們的生活

better.

更好的。

Threatening things weigh heavier on our mind than the non-threatening.

威脅性的東西比非威脅性的東西在我們心中的分量更重。

Because newsfeeds are optimized for attention, their default experience — over the long

因為新聞源是針對注意力進行優化的，他們的默認體驗--在長期的

run — is often a negative one.

運行-------------------------------------往往是一個負數。

When you're continually presented with new information, the negative and threatening

當你不斷收到新的資訊時，負面的、有威脅的

stuff will always capture your attention more than the positive stuff.

東西永遠比正面的東西更能吸引你的注意力。

What people find threatening varies from person to person.

人們覺得有威脅的東西因人而異。

You might focus on whether people are better looking than you, stronger than you, smarter

你可能會關注別人是否比你好看，是否比你強壯，是否比你聰明。

than you, work harder, are more talented, or you may be drawn to fake news.

比你更努力，更有才華，或者你可能被假新聞吸引。

Since we often spend more time analyzing and assessing threat, we pay more attention to

由於我們經常會花更多的時間去分析和評估威脅，所以我們會更多的去關注

it, and we get recommended similar things more and more on our newsfeeds.

它，我們的新媒體上被推薦的類似東西越來越多。

As a result, our newsfeeds often become vicious cycles of negativity and comparison interspersed

是以，我們的新聞源經常變成了負面和比較的惡性循環，夾雜著

with the occasional reward.

與偶爾的獎勵。

So, how do we solve this problem?

那麼，我們該如何解決這個問題呢？

Because it was the only social medium shown to have a net-positive effect on the youth,

因為它是唯一被證明對青年有淨積極作用的社會媒介。

I think we should look to YouTube for some answers.

我想我們應該從YouTube上尋找一些答案。

The one thing that I think makes YouTube vastly different from every other platform is its

我認為YouTube與其他平臺截然不同的一點是它的

search capability.

搜索能力。

Before YouTube became the big social medium it is, it was first and foremost a search

在YouTube成為一個大的社交媒體之前，它首先是一個搜索

engine.

發動機。

In order to create a successful search engine, you have to take massive amounts of unorganized

為了創建一個成功的搜索引擎，你必須把大量無組織的

information and organize it.

資訊並加以整理。

By doing this, YouTube made a much more ordered experience for us, the users.

通過這樣做，YouTube為我們用戶帶來了更有序的體驗。

We could type in the thing we valued or the topic we were interested in and find a community

我們可以輸入自己看重的東西或感興趣的話題，然後找到一個社區。

based on that.

基於此。

I believe it's the amount of control that YouTube gives us over our experience that

我相信，這是YouTube給我們的經驗的控制量。

makes it more positive.

使其更加積極。

We search for a topic that we're interested in and find a video that we like.

我們搜索自己感興趣的話題，找到自己喜歡的視頻。

We see that the channel that made it produces more content on that topic.

我們看到，做的管道生產的內容更多的是這個主題。

We subscribe to that channel.

我們訂閱了該頻道。

We start to build a subscription feed that is purely based on our interests and values.

我們開始建立一個純粹基於我們興趣和價值觀的訂閱源。

Our newsfeed monitors our searches, subscriptions, and video history and offers us more recommendations

我們的新聞源會監控我們的搜索、訂閱和視頻歷史，併為我們提供更多的推薦。

based on that.

基於此。

The YouTube experience largely revolves around our interests and values.

YouTube的體驗很大程度上是圍繞著我們的興趣和價值觀展開的。

It gives us a lot more control in directing our attention from the start.

這讓我們從一開始就能更有把握地引導我們的注意力。

You can always search new things, subscribe and unsubscribe, and restructure the whole

你可以隨時搜索新的東西，訂閱和退訂，並重組整個。

experience around your new interests and values.

圍繞著您的新興趣和價值觀的經驗。

The YouTube culture has always been about creating community.

YouTube文化一直以來都是關於創造社區的。

This is way different from every other social media because most of your connections on

這與其他任何社交媒體都不同，因為你的大部分人脈在

those platforms are based on location, school, work, or other random variables.

這些平臺是基於位置、學校、工作或其他隨機變量。

The default experience on most other platforms is being told what to look at and the culture

其他大多數平臺的默認體驗是被告知看什麼和文化

is often dominated by status and image.

往往以地位和形象為主。

So, how can we apply this lesson to other social media platforms?

那麼，我們如何將這一經驗應用到其他社交媒體平臺呢？

Social media sites are digital cities.

社交媒體網站是數字城市。

Their workers are like the governing bodies.

他們的工人就像管理機構一樣。

And, as the citizens, I think we should have the tools to make digital homes.

而作為市民，我認為我們應該擁有打造數字家園的工具。

A digital home is an ordered experience that you've made for yourself based on your interests

數字家庭是你根據自己的興趣愛好，為自己打造的有序體驗

and values.

和價值觀。

It should be the default experience.

這應該是默認的體驗。

When the chaotic novelty of newsfeeds are the default experience, without any tools

當混沌新奇的新聞源成為默認的體驗時，沒有任何工具

to bring order to them, I argue that we'll always have a negative experience in the long

我認為，從長遠來看，我們總是會有負面的體驗。

run.

運行。

Newsfeeds are designed to create consumers.

新聞聯播的目的是為了創造消費者。

A digital home would be designed to further your development.

一個數字家庭的設計會讓你的發展更進一步。

Let me give you an example of creating a digital home.

我舉個例子，創建一個數字家庭。

On Twitter, I have everyone muted.

在微博上，我讓所有人都靜音了。

My newsfeed is blank and useless.

我的新聞源是空白的，沒用的。

Instead, I have everyone organized into lists based on why I follow them.

而我卻根據自己為什麼要關注他們，把每個人都整理成清單。

Some people I follow for art, some for philosophy, and some because their friends.

我關注的人有的是因為藝術，有的是因為哲學，有的是因為朋友。

The default experience when I log into Twitter isn't to have a bunch of things recommended

我登錄Twitter時的默認體驗並不是有一堆東西推薦給你

to me based on what Twitter thinks will capture my attention, instead it's my choice to

基於Twitter認為會吸引我的注意力，而不是我選擇的是

pick which list I want to read.

選擇我想看的清單。

The mute and list functions are incredibly powerful in bypassing the default newsfeed

靜音和列表功能非常強大，可以繞過默認的新聞源。

and constructing something like a digital home on Twitter.

並在推特上構建類似數字家庭的東西。

I think it's important to bypass the newsfeed as the default experience on every social

我認為繞過新聞源作為每個社交的默認體驗很重要。

media, as much as its possible, and focus on creating a digital home based on your interests

儘可能多地使用媒體，並根據自己的興趣專注於創建數字家庭。

and values.

和價值觀。

And, I think it's important that social media companies give us the tools to make

而且，我認為重要的是，社交媒體公司給我們提供了工具，讓我們可以做出

this possible.

這可能。

Because, without these tools, we lose control, and without control, our attention no longer

因為，沒有了這些工具，我們就失去了控制，沒有了控制，我們的注意力就不再是

belongs

屬於

to us.

對我們來說。