新聞英文筆記：Is Facebook Bad for You? 臉書正在害我嗎？

原文

WSJ — Is Facebook Bad for You? It Is for About 360 Million Users, Company Surveys Suggest

The app hurts sleep, work, relationships or parenting for about 12.5% of users, who reported they felt Facebook was more of a problem than other social media

單字&佳句

• 1 in 8 of its users report engaging in compulsive use of social media that impacts their sleep, work, parenting or relationships.
  難克制的 unable to stop doing it; impulsive
• These patterns of what the company calls problematic use mirror what is popularly known as internet addiction.
  反應 reflect
• The research into social-media use that may negatively affect people’s day-to-day lives was launched several years ago with the goal of mitigating harmful behavior that the company was increasingly identifying on its platforms.
  減輕 ease; alleviate
  發現 recognize
• “I lose the notion of time.”
  想法、觀念 idea; concept
• Facebook took too much of his energy and left him feeling crabby.
  易怒 irritated
• “One of the worries with using sessions as a north star is we want to be extra careful not to game them by creating bad experiences for vulnerable populations.”
  作為指南 as guidance
• “Unfollowing everything allowed me to take stock of who is taking my energy, where does my brain power belong, and if I’m going to engage with certain people,” Mr. Meitner said.
  仔細思考 thing carefully about
  腦袋 intelligence; ability to think
• Mr. Meitner said he considered quitting Facebook but was conflicted because he appreciated how the app connected him with friends and family who no longer lived in his area.
  矛盾的 confused between two ideas

大綱＆心得

這篇文章主要是在探討Facebook到底算不算是真的「傷害」到大家——透過進行研究、報導個別用戶影響，以及公開Facebook歷來的態度與因應方式。

法律一直以來都跟不上科技發展，尤其在這十年新興產業如AI、自駕車、社群媒體、區塊鏈的大躍進之下，法律管太少常讓科技發展損害社會福祉；管太多又可能遏止產業進步，實在很難為。

監管單位當然會要求企業更自律、更減低負面影響，但企業成立的目的就是盈利，CEO們是商人又不是慈善家，不然今天臉書就改名叫Meta Platforms Fundation就好幹嘛叫Meta Platforms, Inc.。要Facebook針對負面影響進行改善，很像是要求企業球員兼裁判，可以有所幫助，但卻也不是根本之道。

我認為除了法律監管外，可以透過一些第三方管道來緩解這個問題。舉例來說，文中的軟體擴充工具Unfollow Everything就是個很好的例子，或許可以要求科技巨頭們增編人力預算，去幫助發展類似Unfollow Everything這種服務的專案或新創，進而長出一個更平衡、多元的生態系——各方全力發展自己服務的同時，市場透過科技制衡科技。