你的孩子什么时候才适合开始用手机？

Jake+Rossen

While smartphones have become popular among adults， they can also be found in a rising number of adolescent1 pockets. According to a study， 78 percent of American children between 12 and 17 had phones； in another survey， 10 is now the average age for children acquiring their first device.

雖然智能手机已在成人中普及，但在越来越多的青少年的口袋中也能找到智能手机。一项研究调查结果表明，12至17岁的美国儿童中的78%拥有手机；另一个调查则发现，10岁是如今儿童获得他们的第一个手机的平均年龄。

For parents， smartphones are useful： Theyre a way to keep track of their childs location， and they satisfy the peer comparison that often accompanies a request for a mobile device. But in creasingly， experts are cautioning that adults who equip kids with easy access to social media and instant communication may be creating more problems than they solve.

对于父母来说智能手机是有用的：它们是追踪孩子所在位置的一种方式，而且满足了孩子同龄人之间攀比所带来的对移动设备的需求。但越来越多的专家警告说，那些为孩子提供容易访问的社交媒体和即时通信设备的家长会制造出比解决的问题更多的问题。

Jesse Weinberger， an internet safety expert， believes that parents are missing some key issues when thinking over phone usage.

互联网安全专家杰西·温伯格认为父母们在思考手机使用的问题时缺乏对一些关键问题的考虑。

“My general rule is not to give a phone to someone younger than a freshman in high school， 13 or 14，” Weinberger says. “Theres a lack of critical thinking prior to that. Theyre missing impulse control and they believe whatever they see.”

“我的一般规则是不要给比高一新生还小的，比如13岁或14岁的孩子们手机，”温伯格说，“在那之前他们缺乏批判性思维。他们无法控制冲动，他们相信他们看到的一切。”

While these issues are present on the internet regardless of how its accessed， Weinberger believes the easy reach of a smartphone creates a far different atmosphere.

尽管这些问题存在于互联网上，不论是通过什么方式访问互联网的，温伯格认为智能手机的上网便捷性创造了一种截然不同的氛围。

Weinberger points out that social media has become so popular that authority2 figures make a common oversight. Applications like Facebook are technically not meant to be accessible to those under 13 years old， yet children bypass simple birthday checks without a second thought. The apps are then used to help show their social standing by measuring followers and likes.

温伯格指出，社交媒体变得如此受欢迎，因而引发了权威人士的共同监督。应用程序，比如脸谱网，在技术上不允许13岁以下的孩子访问，但孩子们能轻而易举地绕过简单的生日验证。然后他们用这些应用程序统计他们的追随者和喜欢的网页来帮助显示他们的社会地位。

“Kids lie，” Weinberger says. “Eighty percent of kids will raise their hand when I ask if they have Instagram. They have three or four accounts， three to four e mail addresses. Parents have no idea whats going on.”

“孩子会撒谎，”温伯格说。“当我问他们是否有‘照片分享应用时，百分之八十的孩子会举起手。他们有三到四个帐户，三到四个电子邮件地址。然而父母们并不知情。”

Physiologically3， Weinberger notes that back lit devices used before bed can often disrupt4 circadian5 sleep rhythms； checking email can lead to an event called “email apnea6，” where we subconsciously7 hold our breath and refresh pages to see if any fresh communication has come in. In developing bodies， that could be dangerous. There are reasons known and not yet known why smartphones can prove hazardous8.endprint

从生理上来说，温伯格指出，睡觉前使用背光照亮的设备往往会扰乱昼夜睡眠的生物钟；检查邮件会导致“电子邮件暂停呼吸”，即我们下意识屏住呼吸并刷新页面，看是否有新的通信来了。这对还在成长的身体可能会造成损伤。各种已知和未知的原因都能够证明智能手机是有害的。

In the end， parents will have to make their own determination whether their child is capable of handling a smartphone responsibly， or if they might be better served to equip them with a so called“dumb” phone9 with limited internet and app capabilities. Regardless， Weinberger believes that setting limits on its usage and educating children is key.

最后，家長们必须做出自己的决定，确认他们的孩子是否能可靠地使用智能手机，或者为他们配备一个联网和应用程序功能有限的所谓的“笨”手机（非智能机）是否会更好。不管怎样，温伯格认为，限制孩子手机的使用和教育孩子才是关键。

When it comes to safety， the question isnt really when a child is ready for a phone. The question is， when is the parent ready？

当说到安全使用手机时，问题不在于孩子什么时候才适合开始用手机，而在于父母什么时候做好了让孩子用手机的准备。

Notes：

1. adolescent [ ] n. 青少年 2. authority [ ] n. 权威；权力

3. physiologically [ ] adv. 生理学方面

4. disrupt [ ] vt. 破坏；使陷于混乱 5. circadian [ ] adj. 生理节奏的

6. apnea [ ] n. [医]窒息，[临床]呼吸暂停

7. subconsciously [ ] adv. 潜意识地

8. hazardous [ ] adj. 有危险的；冒险的

9. dumb [ ] adj. 哑的，无说话能力的； dumb phone 非智能机endprint