少年搭车用推特

Well， parents， surprise！ Lots of us are using Twitter and Facebook to find rides[乘车]， and not just to school. Its awkward[令人尴尬的] to call a friend and ask for a ride， and half the time theyll say，“Sorry， my car is full.” But with Twitter， you just tweet #AshleysPoolParty and look for other people heading the same way.

It may sound risky[危险的]， but many teens stay within their own social circles to find rides， and dont branch out[扩展范围] beyond friends of friends when asking on Twitter. For me， I only rideshare with people I know， but to some young people， especially those taking longer trips， stranger danger is less of a concern.

Juliet Schor （Sociology professor at Boston College）： I think the digital connection of young people is really key， because younger generations grew up sharing things online， sharing files， sharing photos， sharing music， so theyve been very used to sharing.

The sharing economy got big during the recession[经济衰退]. It allows people to access more goods and services using technology， while also allowing them to share costs. And that technology， for me， is what the car was for my mom， a gateway to more freedom. Its like my friend Earl says.

Earl： The symbol[象征] of freedom isnt the car anymore because theres technology out there that could connect you to a car.

According to the researchers at the University of Michigan， 30 years ago， eight in ten American 18-year-olds had a drivers license. Today its six in ten. So its not that surprising that on my 16t h birthday I wasnt rushing to get a license. All I wanted was an iPhone. Professor Schor knows people my age love being connected.

Schor： One of the other important things about driving， for young people， is it means they have to disconnect from their technology， and thats a negative. So if they could sit in the passenger side and still be connected， thats going to be a plus[有利的因素].

To me， another plus is ridesharing represents[代表，象征] something much bigger than trying to save money. I see it as evidence that people still depend on each other. My generation shares their cars and apartments the way neighbors used to share cups of sugar. For the system to work， some of us still need our own cars. But until I get my own version of the silver Super Beetle注， you can find me on Twitter.

好吧，爸爸妈妈们，惊讶吧，我们（青少年）中很多人都用推特和脸谱来搭车，而且不只是去学校。打电话要朋友送是很尴尬的事情，一半时候他们都会说：“对不起，我的车人满了。”但使用推特网，你只要发表诸如话题为“阿什利的泳池派对”的微博，然后寻找其他去往同样方向的人就可以了。

听起来也许有风险，但是很多青少年保持在他们自己的社交圈内找人搭车，而且在推特网上询问时范围最多不超过朋友的朋友。就我而言，我只和认识的人共乘，但对一些年轻人来说，特别是那些需要更长时间旅行的人，就没有太过考虑陌生人的危险性了。

朱丽叶·斯格尔（波士顿大学社会学教授）：我觉得年轻人之间的数码联络真是意义重大，因为年轻的一代代人逐渐兴起了网络共享，分享文件、分享照片、分享音乐，所以他们已经非常习惯于分享。

在经济萧条时期，分享式经济具有不平凡的意义。它让人们可以运用科技享用更多商品和服务，同时也让大家分担了费用。而那种科技，对我来说，是通往更多自由的途径，相当于汽车对我妈妈的意义，正如我的朋友厄尔所言——

厄尔：自由的标志不再是汽车了，因为有了让你能够和汽车联系起来的科技。

据密歇根大学的研究员所说，三十年前，美国18岁人群里10个中有8个拥有驾驶执照，而现在此比例是五分之三。因此在我16岁生日的时候我没有急着去拿驾驶证就不足为奇了。那时我所想要的就是一部苹果手机。斯格尔教授知道我这个年龄的人热衷和人联系。

斯格尔：对年轻人来说，开车带来的一些影响是，这意味着他们必须和科技断开联系，而他们不想这样。所以如果他们能够坐在乘客位置上，又依然能保持和人联系的状态，那就是他们想要的了。

对我来说，另一个有利影响是它代表了一些比努力省钱重大得多的意义。我将此看作人们仍然依靠彼此的证明。我这代人与人分享车和公寓，像过去邻居们分享一杯杯糖一样。要让这个系统工作，我们有些人仍然需要有自己的车。但是直到我有自己的银色大众超级甲壳虫前，你都可以在微博上找我（同行）。

★ Thumb a Ride

在美国，要搭顺风车的人通常会在路边竖起大拇指向过往车辆示意，所以thumb a ride就非常形象地指代“搭顺风车”。例如：

1） He tumbed a ride to Seatle. （他搭顺风车去了西雅图。）

2） —Do you want a thumb ride？ （你想搭顺风车吗？）

—No， thanks. I will go for dinner with my friends. （不，谢谢。我要和朋友们去吃饭。）