“Since social media is relatively new to us, conclusive findings are limited.”
目前，全球有30亿人（约全球人口的40%）都在使用社交媒体。据报道，我们平均每天花两小时在这些社交平台上分享、点赞、发微博、更新微博。
既然社交媒体在我们的生活中扮演着如此重要的角色，那么我们是否可以为此牺牲我们的精神健康、幸福、以及时间呢？
鉴于此，社交媒体对我们生活各方面影响的各种研究也层出不穷。就此，BBC回顾了目前为止关于该领域的科学发现。和小编一起来看看现有的研究给了我们怎样的建议吧。
Stress|压力
研究论点：
人们用社交媒体发泄从售后服务到政治的各种事情，这其中的不利之处是，我们得到的反馈通常像是无尽的压力。与缓解压力相比，社交媒体是否会引发更多的压力呢？
People use social media to vent about everything from customer service to politics, but the downside to this is that our feeds often resemble an endless stream of stress. Researchers sought to find out if social media induces more stress than it relieves.
研究时间：2015
研究方式：对1800使用社交媒体的人进行调查
研究结果：
社交媒体的使用和适度的低压力有关。
Overall, the researchers concluded that social media use was linked to modestly lower levels of stress.
Mood|心情
社交媒体对心情的影响
研究时间：2014，2009-2012
研究方式：对Facebook用户进行调查
研究结果：
人们在使用社交媒体后会感到心情更糟，因为他们认为这是在浪费时间。
Participants reported lower moods after using Facebook for 20 minutes compared to those who just browsed the Internet. People felt that way because they saw it as a waste of time.
好心情或坏心情可能会通过社交媒体在人们之间传播。比如，坏天气会增加负面推文，而这些负面推文又会影响其朋友发出更多的负面推文。正面推文会带来更多正向的影响。
A good or bad mood may also spread between people on social media.
Bad weather increased the number of negative posts by 1%, and the researchers found that one negative post by someone in a rainy city influenced another 1.3 negative posts by friends living in dry cities. The better news is that happy posts had a stronger influence; each one inspired 1.75 more happy posts.
然而，正面的帖子是否能正真的让心情变好，仍未明确。
Whether a happy post translates to a genuine boost in mood, however, remains unclear.
Anxiety|焦虑
社交媒体与焦虑产生的关系
社交媒体引发的焦虑，通常具有如下特点：焦躁、忧虑、难以入睡、注意力不集中。
Researchers have looked at general anxiety provoked by social media, characterized by feelings of restlessness and worry, and trouble sleeping and concentrating.
研究结果：
使用7种或更多社交媒体平台的人，其普遍焦虑症状的可能性是使用0-2种平台的人的3倍多。
A study published in the journal Computers and Human Behavior found that people who report using seven or more social media platforms were more than three times as likely as people using 0-2 platforms to have high levels of general anxiety symptoms.
目前，社交媒体是否以及如何导致焦虑尚未清楚。
That said, it’s unclear if and how social media causes anxiety. Researchers from Babes-Bolyai University in Romania reviewed existing research on the relationship between social anxiety and social networking in 2016, and said the results were mixed. They concluded that more research needs to be done.
抑郁|Depression
抑郁与社交媒体使用之间的关系
坏的影响| the evidence of bad impact
研究时间：前两个不详，后一个2016
前2研究:
对700名使用社交媒体的学生进行研究
研究结果：
诸如情绪低落、毫无价值感和无望感等抑郁症状均与在线互动的质量有关。那些负面互动多的人，其抑郁症状的程度更高。
Depressive symptoms, such as low mood and feelings of worthlessness and hopelessness, were linked to the quality of online interactions. Researchers found higher levels of depressive symptoms among those who reported having more negative interactions.
后1研究：
研究方式：对1700人进行研究
研究结果：
社交媒体使用最多的人群，其患抑郁和焦虑的风险高达三倍。这其中的原因包括网络欺凌、对他人生活的扭曲看法以及感觉上社交媒体是在浪费时间。
A similar study found a threefold risk of depression and anxiety among people who used the most social media platforms. Reasons for this, they suggested, include cyber-bullying, having a distorted view of other people’s lives, and feeling like time spent on social media is a waste.
好的影响|the evidence of good impact
科学家在研究如何应用社交媒体诊断抑郁，以便帮助人们尽早接受治疗。
scientists are also looking at how social media can be used to diagnose depression, which could help people receive treatment earlier.
Sleep|睡眠
社交媒体对睡眠的影响
研究时间：2017
研究方式：对1700人（18-30岁）的社交媒体和睡眠习惯进行研究
研究结果：
睡眠障碍与社交媒体的使用有关，而智能手机和笔记本电脑屏幕发出的蓝光是罪魁祸首。
They found a link with sleep disturbances – and concluded blue light had a part to play. Blue light, which is emitted by smartphone and laptop screens, is said to be the worst culprit.
频繁登陆社交媒体比在社交媒体网上所花时长更易造成睡眠障碍。睡前生理兴奋可能造成睡眠障碍，而设备发出的亮光则延迟的昼夜节律。
How often they logged on, rather than time spent on social media sites, was a higher predictor of disturbed sleep, suggesting “an obsessive 'checking’”, the researchers said.
The researchers say this could be caused by physiological arousal before sleep, and the bright lights of our devices can delay circadian rhythms.
但目前为止，研究人员尚未明确社交媒体是否会导致睡眠障碍，也不确定患有睡眠障碍的人是否会花更多的时间在社交媒体上。
But they couldn’t clarify whether social media causes disturbed sleep, or if those who have disturbed sleep spend more time on social media.
Addiction|沉迷
论证假设：
如果社交媒体成瘾确实存在，那么它应该是网路成瘾的一种。
If social media addiction does exist, it would be a type of internet addiction.
研究日期：2011
研究方式：对之前的43个研究进行分析
研究结果：
社交媒体成瘾是一种心理健康问题，可能需要专业治疗。过度使用会造成人际关系问题、成绩不好，较少参与线下社区的活动。而且研究人员发现那些嗜酒成性、性格特别外向的人以及通过社交媒体弥补与现实生活较少交集的人更易患社交媒体成瘾症。
Social media addiction is a mental health problem that may require professional treatment.
They found that excessive usage was linked to relationship problems, worse academic achievement and less participation in offline communities, and found that those who could be more vulnerable to a social media addiction include those dependent on alcohol, the highly extroverted, and those who use social media to compensate for fewer ties in real life.
Well-being|幸福感
Evidence of Bad impact|坏的影响
研究时间：2013
研究方式：每天给79名参与者发送五次短信，询问其感受及自上一短信起其使用Facebook的次数。
研究结果：
人们花在网站上的时间越多，他们的感觉越差，他们的生活满意度也随着时间的推移而下降。
The more time people spent on the site, the worse they felt later on, and the more their life satisfaction declined over time.
Evidence of good impact|好的影响
研究结果（基于Marketing researchers Jonah Berger 和 Eva Buechel的研究）：
对一些人来说，社交媒体可以帮助他们提高幸福感。
For some people, social media can help boost their well-being.
情绪不稳定的人更容易在社交媒体发表自己的情绪，因为这可以帮助他们获得支持，从消极情绪中恢复过来。
People who are emotionally unstable are more likely to post about their emotions, which can help them receive support and bounce back after negative experiences.
最终结论（两层）：
第一层: 社交媒体对幸福的影响是模糊的。
Overall, social media’s effects on well-being are ambiguous, according to a paper written last year by researchers from the Netherlands.
第二层：社交媒体对那些更自闭的人的幸福感有更大的负面影响。
However, they suggested there is clearer evidence for the impact on one group of people: social media has a more negative effect on the well-being of those who are more socially isolated.
Relationships |人际关系
研究时间：不详
研究方式：让34对陌生人对最近发生的一件有趣的事情进行10分钟的交谈。每对情侣都坐在私人包厢里，并在一半人的桌子上放手机。
研究结果：
与那些将小本放在桌子上的人相比，视线不离手机的人事后回想其互动状况时，并没有那么积极，交谈的意义也不那么明显，与同伴的关系也不那么亲近。
Those with a phone in eyeshot were less positive when recalling their interaction afterwards, had less meaningful conversations and reported feeling less close to their partner than the others, who had a notebook on top of the table instead.
对恋人关系的影响
恋人关系也未能幸免。
Romantic relationships aren’t immune.
研究时间：2009
研究方式：
对300名年龄在17-24岁之间的人进行研究，调查他们在Facebook上遭遇的嫉妒心理，比如，你的伴侣加了一个不知名的异性朋友后，你会变得有多嫉妒?
研究结果：
女性在Facebook上花的时间比男性更多，而且在这样做的时候，她们也会变得更加嫉妒。他们觉得是Facebook这样的环境创造了这些情感，同时也增强了对其关系质量的担忧。
Women spent much more time on Facebook then men, and experienced significantly more jealousy when doing so. The researchers concluded they “felt the Facebook environment created these feelings and enhanced concerns about the quality of their relationship”.
嫉妒|Envy
坏的影响|Evidence of Bad impact
研究时间：不详
研究方式：对600使用社交媒体的成年人进行研究
研究结果：
大约三分之一的人表示，社交媒体让他们产生了负面情绪——主要是沮丧——而嫉妒是导致沮丧的主要原因。没有比较，就没有嫉妒。隔壁老王怎么又在晒他和他媳妇的旅行照了。不好，我是不是陷入了嫉妒的漩涡。（看看BBC是怎么表述的）
Roughly a third said social media made them feel negative emotions – mainly frustration – and envy was the main cause. This was triggered by comparing their lives to others’, and the biggest culprit was other people’s travel photos. Feeling envious caused an “envy spiral”, where people react to envy by adding to their profiles more of the same sort of content that made them jealous in the first place.
好的影响|Evidence of good impact
研究时间：不详
研究方式：测试380名学生在Facebook和Twitter看过“容易产生嫉妒”图片或推文之后的反应。
研究结果：
嫉妒也不是什么特别坏的情绪。它通常会激励我们更努力工作。
Envy isn’t necessarily a destructive emotion. It can often make us work harder.
孤独感|Loneliness
研究时间：2017
研究方式：对年龄在19-32岁使用社交媒体的人进行调查
研究结果：
在社交媒体用时最多的人，通常更易感到社交孤立，比如缺少社会归属感、 较少与他人互动、以及缺乏良好的人际关系。
those who spend the most time on social media were twice as likely to report experiencing social isolation, which can include a lack of a sense of social belonging, engagement with others and fulfilling relationships.
Spending more time on social media, the researchers said, could displace face-to-face interaction, and can also make people feel excluded.
Conclusion|结论
基于上述的研究与调查，BBC给出的最终结论，小编觉得特别好，用到作文里，一定会亮到评卷老师的眼睛：
虽然还没有确凿的证据表明社交媒体到底是好还是不好，但可以肯定的一点就是：
社交媒体的影响因人而异，取决于既存条件和性格特点。
与食物、赌博和许多现代社会的诱惑一样，过度使用可能是不可取的。但认为社交媒体是不好的事物的观点也是不对的，因为显然它给我们的生活带来了无数的好处。
It’s clear that in many areas, not enough is known yet to draw many strong conclusions. However, the evidence does point one way: social media affects people differently, depending on pre-existing conditions and personality traits.
As with food, gambling and many other temptations of the modern age, excessive use for some individuals is probably inadvisable. But at the same time, it would be wrong to say social media is a universally bad thing, because clearly it brings myriad benefits to our lives.
Source:
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20180104-is-social-media-bad-for-you-the-evidence-and-the-unknowns
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