It is the generation that can understand exactly how you are feeling through a few simple emoticons.
But now researchers claim that children are so engrossed in their phones, they are unable to accurately read how people are feeling in real life.
This is the result of less face-to-face time interaction, according to the study, which found young kids are glued to electronic devices for nearly five hours each day.
The finding was made after testing the ability of 11 to 12-year-olds to recognize the emotions of people pictured in photos.
“Many people are looking at the benefits of digital media in education, and not many are looking at the costs,” said study author Patricia Greenfield, professor of psychology at the Children’s Digital Media Center, part of the University of California, Los Angeles.
“Decreased sensitivity to emotional cues — losing the ability to understand the emotions of other people — is one of the costs.”
Lead author Yalda Uhls said that emoticons are a poor substitute for face-to-face communication: “We are social creatures. We need device-free time.”
(Courtesy of Liberty Times)
這是個只要透過幾個簡單的表情符號就能了解你感受如何的世代。
但是現在研究人員宣稱，現在孩子花太多時間在他們的手機上，以至於無法精準解讀真實世界中人們的感受。
根據這份研究，這是較少面對面互動的結果。這項研究發現孩童每天有將近五小時的時間3C設備不離手。
這項發現是經測試十一到十二歲者辨識照片中人們情緒的能力所得出。
「許多人看的是數位媒體在教育中的好處，審視必須為此付出何種代價的人不多，」研究報告作者洛杉磯加州大學兒童數位媒體中心心理學教授派翠希亞．葛林菲爾說。
「對情緒訊號的敏感度降低，即失去理解他人情緒的能力，就是其中的代價之一。」
報告第一作者亞爾達．烏爾斯說，表情符號不能取代面對面的溝通，「我們是社交動物。我們需要有拋開電子器材的時間。」
（自由時報提供／翻譯：管淑平）
