孩子們需要更少的屏幕時(shí)間，更多的綠色時(shí)間

孩子們需要更少的屏幕時(shí)間，更多的綠色時(shí)間

Mental health is deteriorating among young people globally. The incidence of depression and anxiety is increasing, and this not only diminishes quality of life, but can have a lasting negative impact as an adolescent reaches adulthood.

全球年輕人的心理健康正在惡化。抑郁和焦慮的發(fā)生率在增加，這不僅會(huì)降低生活質(zhì)量，而且會(huì)在青少年成年后產(chǎn)生持久的負(fù)面影響。

Many experts are trying to get at the root causes of this decline, in order to find ways to prevent further deterioration and to provide more effective help when needed. Two "emerging determinants of interest" are (a) excessive use of screen-based technology, and (b) too little time spent in nature. Most research to date has considered these factors independently, but a group of scientists from University of Adelaide recently decided to look at them jointly, to see if the combination of high screen time (ST) and low "green time" (GT), as they call it, could affect mental wellbeing.

許多專家試圖找出造成這種下降的根本原因，以便找到防止進(jìn)一步惡化的方法，并在必要時(shí)提供更有效的幫助。兩個(gè)“新出現(xiàn)的興趣決定因素”是(a)過度使用基于屏幕的技術(shù)，(b)花在自然上的時(shí)間太少。迄今為止，大多數(shù)研究都是獨(dú)立考慮這些因素的，但阿德萊德大學(xué)的一組科學(xué)家最近決定聯(lián)合研究它們，看看高屏幕時(shí)間(ST)和低“綠燈時(shí)間”(GT)(他們稱之為GT)的組合是否會(huì)影響心理健康。

'For a child, even getting to run around in a field is a mighty adventure.'.@atatreedy via Twenty20

The result is an open-access study published on September 4, 2020, in the scientific journal PLOS One. It is titled, "Psychological impacts of 'screen time' and 'green time' for children and adolescents: A systematic scoping review." In it, the researchers analyzed data from 186 studies that looked at children's interactions with screen-based technology and nature and their psychological outcomes, including mental health, cognitive functioning, and academic achievement.

這項(xiàng)研究結(jié)果發(fā)表在2020年9月4日的科學(xué)期刊《公共科學(xué)圖書館綜合》上。題為《“屏幕時(shí)間”和“綠色時(shí)間”對兒童和青少年的心理影響:一個(gè)系統(tǒng)的范圍審查》。在這項(xiàng)研究中，研究人員分析了186項(xiàng)研究的數(shù)據(jù)，這些研究關(guān)注的是兒童與基于屏幕的科技和自然的互動(dòng)，以及他們的心理結(jié)果，包括心理健康、認(rèn)知功能和學(xué)業(yè)成就。

What they found was that, in general, excessive screen time results in poorer psychological health, whereas green time boosts mental wellbeing. Children nowadays are spending more time than ever in front of devices. Ten years ago in the U.S., the average daily screen time for 8-to-18-year-olds was 7.5 hours. As the study states, "This greatly exceeds recreational ST guidelines of 2 hours or less per day," and is made even more challenging by the fact that so many schools are using technology to teach classes.

他們發(fā)現(xiàn)，一般來說，過多的屏幕時(shí)間會(huì)導(dǎo)致心理健康狀況惡化，而綠色時(shí)間會(huì)促進(jìn)心理健康。如今的孩子們在電子設(shè)備前花費(fèi)的時(shí)間比以往任何時(shí)候都多。十年前，美國8到18歲的青少年每天平均看屏幕的時(shí)間為7.5小時(shí)。正如研究指出的那樣，“這大大超過了每天2小時(shí)或更少的休閑ST的指導(dǎo)，”而且由于如此多的學(xué)校使用科技來授課，這一事實(shí)更加具有挑戰(zhàn)性。

Could Green Time Be a Cure?

“綠色時(shí)間”是治愈的方法嗎?

The study authors suggest that green time could act as an antidote to screen time, essentially offsetting its negative effects, and should be researched further for this potential:

該研究的作者建議，綠色時(shí)間可以作為屏幕時(shí)間的解毒劑，從本質(zhì)上抵消它的負(fù)面影響，并應(yīng)進(jìn)一步研究其潛力:

"Paying constant directed attention to screen-based technologies can lead to directed attention fatigue. Attention Restoration Theory postulates that when direct attention mechanisms are fatigued, they can be restored in natural environments because they employ involuntary attention, which is not tiring or effortful."

“持續(xù)地將注意力集中在基于屏幕的技術(shù)上可能會(huì)導(dǎo)致注意力疲勞。注意恢復(fù)理論假設(shè)，當(dāng)直接注意機(jī)制疲勞時(shí)，它們可以在自然環(huán)境中恢復(fù)，因?yàn)樗鼈兪褂梅亲栽缸⒁?，這是不累或有效的。

This knowledge could be a boon to public health departments that are scrambling to restore happiness and cheer in countless anxiety-ridden adolescents. It suggests that building a park, planting community gardens, implementing broader outdoor education programs in school, and prescribing daily nature walks in a forest could be radical, life-saving projects.

這一認(rèn)識可能是公共衛(wèi)生部門的福音，他們正忙于讓無數(shù)焦慮的青少年恢復(fù)快樂和歡呼。它建議建造一個(gè)公園，開創(chuàng)社區(qū)花園，在學(xué)校實(shí)施更廣泛的戶外教育項(xiàng)目，并規(guī)定每天在森林中進(jìn)行自然散步，這些可能是激進(jìn)的、拯救生命的項(xiàng)目。

As usual, the study reveals what needs to be examined in greater depth, such as how low socio-economic circumstances may make children more vulnerable to the negative effects of too much screen time and too little green time; this demographic was underrepresented in the studies that were analyzed and should be examined more closely going forward.

和往常一樣，這項(xiàng)研究揭示了需要更深入地研究的問題，比如，低社會(huì)經(jīng)濟(jì)環(huán)境如何會(huì)使兒童更容易受到過多屏幕時(shí)間和過少綠色時(shí)間的負(fù)面影響;在被分析的研究中，這一人口學(xué)的代表性不足，今后應(yīng)該更仔細(xì)地檢查。

Nevertheless, it's valuable knowledge for parents, educators, and policy-makers to keep in mind – that children do better when they spend less time online and more time outdoors. We can all do our part to encourage that.

然而，家長、教育工作者和政策制定者需要牢記的寶貴知識是:孩子少上網(wǎng)多在戶外活動(dòng)會(huì)更好。我們大家都可以盡自己的一份力量來鼓勵(lì)這一點(diǎn)。