中国网站品牌栏目（频道）
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 Eighty percent of parents believe social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter have the ability to take over their children's lives. |
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A staggering four out of five parents worry that their children will become addicted to Facebook, according to a study. Eighty percent believe social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter have the ability to take over their children's lives. One in three parents, meanwhile, believes the Internet has the power to 'rewire' brains without a person's knowledge and thinks their children are in danger from the web. The extraordinary findings come from a poll of 1,000 parents carried out by the Nominet Trust, an organisation that promoted internet projects that address social disadvantage. However, Nominet said their findings fly in the face of neurological evidence. The Trust worked with neuroscience and education expert Dr Paul Howard Jones, who analysed research on the internet and society. The report - The Impact of Digital Technologies On Human Wellbeing - concluded that there is no neurological evidence to suggest that the internet is more effective at 'rewiring' our brains than other environmental influences. It also found that the internet is a valuable learning resource and all forms of learning cause changes within the brain. There have been reports that use of the internet with its vast resources of information is changing the way people think and affecting their ability to concentrate. But Nominet said that 'scaremongering and misinformation' about internet use can potentially deny its benefits to people, in particular parents who are worried about the effect on their children's development. The report also found that social networking sites, in themselves, are not a special source of risk to children, and are generally beneficial as they support existing friendships. In addition, playing action video games can improve some visual processing and motor response skills, while computer-based activity provides mental stimulation, and can help slow rates of cognitive decline. (Read by Renee Haines. Renee Haines is a journalist at the China Daily Website.) (Agencies) |
根据一项调查，多达八成父母担心自己的孩子会沉迷于Facebook不可自拔。 80%的父母认为Facebook和Twitter这样的社交网站会左右孩子的人生。 此外，还有三分之一的父母认为网络能在不知不觉下“改装”一个人的大脑，并认为自己的孩子正遭到来自网络的威胁。 这一调查是由互联网慈善机构Nominet基金会开展的，涵盖了1000名父母。调查结果很令人意外。 不过，Nominet基金会说他们的发现和神经学上的证据是相悖的。 和该基金会合作的神经科学家和教育专家保罗•霍华德•琼斯博士对这一和网络和社会相关的调查进行了分析研究。 这一题为《数字技术对人类幸福的影响》的研究报告得出结论说，目前并没有神经学上的证据表明网络比其他外界影响力能更有效地“改装”大脑。 研究还发现，网络是一个宝贵的学习资源，各种形式的学习导致大脑产生了变化。 曾有报道称，对网络丰富的信息资源的利用正在改变人们的思维方式，并影响了他们集中注意力的能力。 但是Nominet机构称，对于网络使用的“危言耸听和不实信息”可能会阻碍网络造福于人们，特别是那些担心网络会对孩子成长产生不利影响的父母。 研究报告还发现，社交网络本身对于孩子并没有特别大的风险，而且大体上是有益的，因为社交网络能够增进友谊。 此外，打动作网游能够提升视觉处理能力和运动反应能力，而电脑相关活动可以刺激智力发育，并有助于减缓认知能力的衰退速度。 相关阅读 （中国日报网英语点津 陈丹妮 编辑：冯明惠） |
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Vocabulary: staggering: so large, shocking or surprising that it is difficult to believe （大得惊人的；骇人的；难以想像的） take over: 取而代之；取得主导地位 rewire: to put new electrical wires into a building or piece of equipment 给（建筑物或设备）换新电线。文中是比喻用法。 fly in the face of something: 悍然不顾；公然违抗；与……相悖 scaremongering: spreading stories deliberately to make people frightened or nervous（散布恐怖消息；制造恐慌；危言耸听） |
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