The Psychology of Your Scrolling Addiction刷屏上瘾心理学

凯特琳·伍利　玛丽萨·A.谢里夫/文　吕昕/译

Picture this： Youve just settled into your workday and pulled up that big report you need to finish， when a friend sends you a couple of celebrity videos on Instagram. You figure youll just take a few minutes to watch the videos—and then the next thing you know， an hour has gone by. Youve been sucked down the rabbit hole1， watching video after video， while that big report sits， neglected， on2 your desk.

想象一下：你剛开始投入到工作日的状态，准备处理那份重要的报告，这时朋友在Instagram上发来了几段名人视频。你本以为只会花几分钟浏览，结果不知不觉一个小时过去了。你已深陷其中无法自拔，一条接一条地刷着视频，而那份重要的报告却被你摘置在桌上。

We all want to use our time efficiently and productively， especially while at work. And yet， studies have shown that 77% of employees use social media while on the clock3， many of them for up to several hours a day. Even when we dont have a looming assignment， we almost never sit down， turn on our phones， and intentionally decide， “Im going to spend two hours on TikTok now！” So how does “Ill just watch a few celebrity confessionals4” spiral5 into hours of viewing？

我们都希望高效利用时间，尤其是工作的时候。然而，研究显示，77%的员工在上班期间刷社交媒体，其中许多人每天在上面耗费数个小时。即使没有迫在眉睫的任务，我们也几乎从不会坐下来，打开手机，刻意决定“我现在要花两个小时刷TikTok”！那么，“我只是刷几条名人自白视频”是如何蜕变成花费几个小时刷视频的呢？

To better understand why people fall into these sorts of rabbit holes （and how they can climb out and get back to work）， we conducted a series of studies with a total of 6，445 U.S.-based students and working adults. Through this research， we identified three factors that influence whether people choose to continue viewing photos and videos rather than switch to another activity： the amount of media the person has already viewed， the similarity of the media theyve viewed， and the manner in which they viewed the media.

为了进一步理解人们为何会陷入这种兔子洞（以及如何从中脱困并重回工作状态），我们进行了一系列研究，共涉及美国境内6445名学生和上班族。这项研究确定了三种因素影响人们是选择继续浏览照片和视频，还是切换到其他活动：所浏览媒体的数量、相似性，以及浏览的方式。

In the first part of our research， we were interested in exploring whether the pull of the rabbit hole would grow stronger or weaker once people had already viewed several videos. We had participants view either five different music videos or just one music video， and then we asked them if theyd rather watch another video or complete a work-related task. In theory， one might expect that people would get tired of watching music videos after watching five in a row， reducing their desire to watch more of them. But in fact， we found that the opposite was true： Watching five videos made people 10% more likely to choose to watch an additional music video than if they only watched one video.

本研究的第一部分旨在探究人们在观看多个视频后，兔子洞的吸引力会有所增强还是减弱。一些参与者浏览了五条不同的音乐视频，而其他人只看了一条。之后我们询问他们愿意继续刷下一条视频，还是投入到与工作相关的任务中去。理论上，人们可能会认为连续刷五条音乐视频会让人感到厌倦，从而减少观看更多音乐视频的欲望。但实际情况却与之相反：观看五条视频的人比只看过一条的人更有可能继续刷音乐视频，可能性高出10%。

Next， we examined the impact of framing the videos people watched as similar to one another. We showed participants the same two videos， but for half of the participants， we explicitly labelled the videos with the same category label （“educational videos”）， while for the other half of the participants， we didnt include a category label. We found that simply framing the videos as more similar via the category label made people 21% more likely to choose to watch another related video.

我们接着研究了把所看视频定性为相似类型对观众的影响。所有参与者都观看了相同的两段视频，其中一半人观看的视频加有明确的同类别标签（如“教育视频”），另一半人的视频则没有添加任何分类标签。结果显示，仅通过类别标签暗示视频之间有相似性，观众选择继续观看相关视频的可能性增加了21%。

Finally， we looked at how people acted after watching several videos consecutively， versus when they watched the same number of videos with some interruptions. We had one group of participants complete two work tasks and then watch two similar videos， while the other group completed the same four tasks， but alternated between them （i.e.， work， video， work， video）. Despite having done exactly the same activities， the order made a big difference： The participants whose video consumption was uninterrupted were 22% more likely to choose to watch another video than those who alternated between work tasks and videos.

最后，我們比较了观众连续观看多段视频和断续观看相同数量的视频后的行为差异。一组参与者先完成两项工作，然后观看两段相似的视频，而另一组则交替完成同样的四项任务（即工作、视频、工作、视频）。尽管两组进行的活动完全相同，但不同的顺序却产生了显著的影响：观看视频无间断的参与者比在工作和视频之间交替的参与者更有可能选择观看下一个视频，可能性高出了22%。

Clearly， seemingly small details around the order and types of content we consume can have a major impact on our decision to keep consuming similar content. But what drives this effect？ Prior research suggests that the three factors we identified all increase the accessibility of similar media. In this context， accessibility refers to how familiar， or top-of-mind6， a given kind of content feels. When something feels more accessible， it becomes easier to process， leading us to anticipate that we will enjoy it more. In other words， people choose to continue down the rabbit hole because viewing related media “feels right” —even if its at odds with7 what they actually want to be doing， whether thats getting work done or even just taking a break.

显然，浏览顺序和内容类型等细微差别都会对我们是否继续浏览类似内容产生重要影响。不过，这种影响是如何产生的呢？以往的研究表明，我们所确定的三种因素都会增加类似媒体的可及性。在这种情况下，可及性指的是某种内容给人的熟悉感或者在我们心中的优先程度。当某样东西感觉更加可及时，我们处理起来会更得心应手，这让我们下意识地认为自己会更喜欢它。换句话说，人们选择继续沉迷于兔子洞，是因为浏览相关媒体“感觉对头”——即使这与他们实际想做的事情相悖，无论是完成工作还是只是小憩片刻。

These results also illuminate why its so easy to get distracted by apps like Instagram or YouTube at work. These platforms are designed to trap viewers in a social media rabbit hole： They offer bite-sized content that makes it easy to quickly consume several videos or posts in a row， they often automatically suggest similar content， and many of them even automatically start playing similar videos， reducing the potential for interruptions. While presenting users with engaging content isnt necessarily a bad thing， the accessibility of this media is exactly what makes it so hard for users to break free from the rabbit hole and get back to whatever they were working on.

上述结果也揭示了为何我们在工作时很容易被Instagram或YouTube等应用程序分散注意力。这些平台的设计就是要将观众困在社交媒体的兔子洞中：它们提供了易于消化的碎片化内容，让我们可以连续快速地浏览多条视频或帖子；它们还经常自动推荐相似的内容，甚至会自动播放类似的视频，减少了被打断的可能性。虽然这些平台提供引人入胜的内容并不一定是坏事，但正是这些媒体的可及性使得用户难以摆脱兔子洞，无法回到他们手头的工作中去。

The good news is， a better understanding of what makes the rabbit hole so powerful can also give us the tools we need to escape it. Specifically， were more likely to get sucked in if we view many photos or videos in a row， if we consume multiple pieces of similar content， and if we are uninterrupted while consuming that content. So， to combat the pull of the rabbit hole， make an effort to just watch one video; if you really want to watch multiple in a row， choose videos that seem unrelated; or find ways to intentionally interrupt your viewing experience. There are countless strategies that can help you break the cycle： You can use a social media timer that prompts you to take a break after a certain amount of time， keep a sticky note on your desk with a note to avoid watching too many videos in a row， or even just consciously remind yourself to consume different kinds of content.

好消息是，對兔子洞强大吸引力的深入理解也让我们有了逃离兔子洞所需要的手段。具体而言，如果我们连续浏览许多照片或视频，或是观看大量相似的内容，并且在此过程中没有受到任何干扰，那么我们更容易陷入其中。因此，为了抵御兔子洞的诱惑，我们可以尽量只观看一段视频；如果真的想要连续浏览多段视频，可以选择看起来毫不相关的视频；或者设法刻意中断观看过程。有各种策略可以帮助我们打破恶性循环：借助社交媒体定时器，在一段时间后提醒自己休息；在桌上贴张便利贴，提醒自己不要一口气看太多视频；甚至只是刻意提醒自己要浏览不同类型的内容。

Ultimately， theres nothing wrong with watching a cat video or two， or scrolling through a few memes8 from a friend. It only becomes a problem when consuming all this media keeps you from doing the things you actually want to be doing. So， if youre worried about falling down a rabbit hole （or if youve already fallen into one and youre struggling to climb out）， see if you can find ways to reduce the similarity， repetitiveness， and relatedness of the content youre consuming. It can be difficult， but its not impossible—and once you manage to break free， youll be back at that big report in no time.

归根结底，看几段萌猫视频或翻翻朋友发来的梗图并无大碍。问题在于，当你沉湎于这些媒体，有时会无暇顾及自己真正想做的事情。因此，如果你担心陷入兔子洞（或者已经身陷其中，想要摆脱却又力不从心），不妨设法减少所浏览内容的相似性、重复性和相关性。从兔子洞中脱身可能有些困难，但并非不可能，一旦你成功脱困，就能立刻回到那份重要的报告上了。

（译者为“《英语世界》杯”翻译大赛获奖者；单位：中国科学院自然科学史研究所）

1 down the rabbit hole〈俚〉掉进兔子洞，用来形容进入一个不寻常的地方或情景之中，或指在网上关注了一个有趣而耗时的话题。该俚语源于经典童话《爱丽丝梦游仙境》：当爱丽丝掉进兔子洞时，她进入了一个不同的世界，那里的一切似乎都不正常。  2 sit on拖延不办，搁置。  3 on the clock正在上班。

4 confessional（尤指天主教堂中神父听取忏悔、告罪的）忏悔室，告解室。  5 spiral（形势）急剧恶化。

6 top of mind首先想到的。  7 at odds with与……有差异，相矛盾。

8 meme爆红的网络话题，“梗”。