我们为什么要边走路边发短信
People are, by nature, information-seeking creatures. When we regularly check our phones, we are snacking on information from devices that offer an all-you-can-eat buffet of information.
人在本性上就是一种寻求信息的生物。定期查看手机的行为，就像是从那些提供信息自助餐的设备上获取信息，而且“管饱”。
Our information-foraging tendencies evolved from the behavior of animals foraging for food for survival, said Dr. Adam Gazzaley, a neuroscientist and co-author of the book “The Distracted Mind: Ancient Brains in a High-Tech World.” Studies have shown that our brains feel rewarded when we receive information, which drives us to seek more. That’s similar to how our appetites feel sated after we eat.
神经学家、《分心的大脑：高科技世界里的古代大脑》(The Distracted Mind: Ancient Brains in a High-Tech World)的合著者亚当·加扎利(Adam Gazzaley)博士说，人类搜集信息的倾向是从动物为了生存而觅食的行为演变而来。研究发现，当我们接受到信息的时候，大脑会感到获得了回报，这会驱使我们去寻找更多信息。这类似我们吃饱后的满足感。
In some ways, smartphones were designed to be irresistible to information-seeking creatures. Dr. Gazzaley drew this analogy: An animal will probably stay in a tree to gather all of its nuts before moving on to the next one. That’s because the animal is weighing the cost of getting to the next tree against the diminishing benefit of staying. With humans and smartphones, there is no cost to switching between email, text messages and apps like Facebook.
在某种程度上，智能手机被设计成对寻求信息的生物具有不可抗拒的吸引力。加扎利做了这样的类比：一只动物可能会停留在一棵树上收集所有的坚果，然后再转移到下一棵树。这是动物对到达下一棵树的成本与留在同一棵树收益递减关系进行权衡的结果。对于人类和智能手机而言，在电子邮件、短信和Facebook等应用程序之间切换是没有成本的。
“The next tree is right there: It’s a link to the next webpage, a shift to the next tab,” he said. “We transfer so easily that we don’t have to use up the nuts to move on to the next one.”
“下一棵树就在那里：下一个网页的链接，向下一个标签的切换，”他说，“转移对我们来说太容易，不必穷尽所有的坚果就能转移到下一个目标。”
So we get stuck in cycles. At what point is this considered addiction?
因此，我们陷入了无穷无尽的循环中。那什么时候算是上瘾了?
Not all constant phone use was considered addictive, said Steven Sussman, a professor of preventive medicine at the University of Southern California. External pressures, like a demanding job, could force people to frequently check their phones. But when people check their devices just to enhance their mood, this could be a sign of a developing problem.
南加州大学(University of Southern California)预防医学教授史蒂文·萨斯曼(Steven Sussman)说，并不是所有持续使用手机的人都是上瘾。外部压力，比如要求繁多的工作，可能会迫使人们经常查看手机。但当人们只是为了改善情绪而查看电子设备，这可能就是要出状况的迹象。
Another signal of addictive behavior is becoming preoccupied with smartphone use when you should be doing something else. An even clearer indicator is what happens when the phone is taken away.
上瘾行为的另一个信号是，当你应该干其他事时，却沉迷于使用智能手机。一个更清晰的指标是当手机被拿走时会发生什么。
“Let’s say you go out to the mountains and you don’t get reception, so you can’t use a smartphone,” Dr. Sussman said. “Do you feel a sense of relief? Or do you feel, wow, I want to get out of these mountains — I want to use the smartphone. If you feel the latter, that’s toward the addictive direction.”
“比方说你去了山里，信号接收不了，所以你无法使用智能手机，”苏斯曼说。“你有一种解脱的感觉吗?或者你感到，呀，我想离开这些山——我想用智能手机。如果你的感觉是后者，那就是上瘾的趋势。”
Jim Steyer, the chief executive of Common Sense Media, a nonprofit that evaluates tech products and media for families, said there needed to be a broad public awareness campaign over the dangers of walking and texting in parallel with distracted driving.
为家庭评估科技产品和媒体的非营利组织常理媒体(Common Sense Media)首席执行官吉姆·斯泰尔(Jim Steyer)表示，需要开展一场广泛的公众意识宣传活动，让人们意识到边走路边发短信和分心驾驶的危险。
“You have distracted pedestrians and distracted drivers, so it’s the double whammy,” he said. “Tech addiction hits in both ways.”
“我们有分心的行人和分心的司机，所以这是双重打击，”他说。“科技成瘾对两方面都有影响。”
How to Take Control
如何加以控制
Obviously, the answer to not getting into dangerous situations by walking and texting is not to walk and text at the same time.
很显然，避免陷入边走边发短信的危险境地的方法就是不要边走边发短信。
But that’s easier said than done, since people have trouble reining in their tech use. So several experts recommended exercises in self-control.
但这说来容易做起来难，因为人们很难控制自己对科技产品的使用。所以一些专家建议进行自我控制练习。
Melanie Greenberg, a clinical psychologist and the author of “The Stress-Proof Brain,” said people could practice being more mindful by asking themselves any of these questions:
临床心理学家、《抗压大脑》(The Stress-Proof Brain)一书作者梅拉妮·格林伯格(Melanie Greenberg)说，人们可以通过问自己这些问题练习变得更专注：
Reducing access to the device can also be helpful, Dr. Gazzaley said. You could carry your phone in your bag instead of your pocket, making it more troublesome to pull out, for example.
加扎利说，减少对设备的使用也可能有帮助。比如，你可以把手机放在包里而不是口袋里，这样取出来更麻烦一些。
The National Safety Council said that when pedestrians have to check their phones, they should stop walking and stand in a safe place. It also advised people wearing earphones to listen at a low volume.
国家安全委员会表示，当行人必须查看手机时，他们应该停止步行，站在安全的地方。委员会还建议戴耳机的人把音量调低。
Chris Marcellino, a former Apple engineer who led the development of the original iPhone’s notifications, recommended going into the phone’s settings and switching off notifications for all apps except those that are most important to you, like work-related apps.
前苹果公司工程师克里斯·马塞利诺(Chris Marcellino)领导了最初的iPhone通知的开发，他建议进入手机的设置，关掉所有应用程序的通知，除了对你来说最重要的那些，比如与工作相关的应用程序。
