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向娃娃学习,玩转科技

原文作者:佚名

 不知从何时起,孩子们摇身一变,个个都成了“触屏时代”的小神童。在大人看来,这帮小屁孩几乎能玩转所有的科技产品,自己却只能甘拜下风。为了不丢面子,大人们找到各种理由为自己开脱:小孩脑子快,他们一出生就有ipad玩,他们总爱瞎鼓捣……然而,真正的原因却并非如此。
   we’re often astounded by the ability of children to pick up, use and master the latest technological innovations. you frequently hear stories from parents of how they left a tablet computer lying around and after a couple of hours they came back to find their toddler1) using it to play games, look at kittens on the internet or open an offshore bank account2).
   the idea that the younger generation is somehow inherently more adept at using technology is slowly taking hold3). in a recent survey by john lewis4), 71 per cent of parents admitted that they consult their children for technological advice, whether that’s help online (setting up social-media profiles) or around the home (operating the tivo5)). in other words, while adults are busy putting food on the table, children are becoming our technological overlords6).[论文网] 
   but how and why is this happening and why do some parents seem resigned to it? after all, modern user interfaces7) are getting simpler and, at least in theory, are designed for us all to operate. they’re not geared8) specifically towards children and, while it’s often stated that kids find technology easy because they “grew up with it,” their 30-something parents probably grew up with it, too.
   “it’s certainly an illusion to assume that kids can do these things intuitively,” says nigel houghton, managing director of simplicity computers. “it’s more the case that they’re not fearful of looking around, and so they eventually work things out.” dr mark brosnan, senior lecturer in psychology at the university of bath and author of the book technophobia, says that children’s apparent expertise has little to do with youth. “if they swipe a tablet screen with three fingers, it looks like an intuitive gesture,” he says, “but it’s because they’ve seen someone do it before. they just have a great immediate experience9) of potential solutions.”
   there’s a world of difference between the windows 95 pcs that many adults cut their teeth on10) and sleek11), 21st-century touch-screen devices; the latter are far more geared towards entertainment and communication, so it’s unsurprising that children spend far more time getting to grips with12) them than time-starved13) parents.
   “it becomes about inclination,” says matt leeser, head of buying for telecoms and technology at john lewis. “whether you’re talking about windows 8 or a smart tv, it’s a question of whether one can be bothered to learn how to use it.” but it’s also to do with the learning process itself. “when kids get a device, they talk to their mates, and they go through a process of swapping14) information,” says houghton, whose company specializes in producing simpler, more straightforward co

mputing interfaces. “but when older people see younger people using devices so easily, it provides a sort of deterrent: ‘oh god,’ they think, ‘i can’t do that. i must be stupid.’”

 it’s a conveniently lazy mindset to develop, but it’s one that’s easily conquerable. “i’ve looked at issues related to anxiety and technology,” says brosnan, “and some of the most confident, happy, least anxious users are silver surfers15) over the age of 65—largely due to the fact that they’re retired, they have some time to spare, and there’s no pressure—no one is watching them and evaluating how they’re using it.”
   in other words, a solid relationship with technology seems to be a function16) of leisure time, something that parents can be woefully17) short of. the resulting technological consultation of children by their parents could just be seen as an amusing reversal of authority within the family unit, but it does throw up a number of questions, both financial and moral. “we’re seeing kids leading a lot of technology purchase decisions for the family based upon the trends that they’re following,” says leeser.
   “they’re not really worrying about internet security, for example, or interoperability18). so our role is to offer impartial advice.
   “someone said to me recently that it’s like giving the prisoner the key if you let your kids make your technology purchases.”
   the same analogy could be used back at home, post-sale, where it’s the parents’ duty to be clued up19) enough to supervise their children’s use of technology, but kids end up knowing far more than they’re given credit for20). “if i were a child and my parents asked me which websites i shouldn’t be looking at,” says leeser, “i certainly wouldn’t have told them—and if they’d asked me how to block those websites, i wouldn’t have told them that either.”
   ahad surooprajally, 45, has a nine-year old son, habeeb, who’s already running rings around him21). “he has to go to bed at a certain time,” he says, “but then he’ll log into my apple tv remotely while i’m watching a film and shut it down … similarly, i had a friend of mine set up controls on the computer so habeeb has 30 minutes online time a day—but he made himself an administrator and gave himself two hours a day instead.” habeeb himself finds this screamingly funny, but is coy22) when asked how he came by the knowledge. “oh, the internet,” he giggles. and do you ever get tips from friends? “to be honest, i don’t really need to,” he replies.
   you may think of habeeb as a whizz kid23) who’s streets ahead of24) his peers, but it’s likely that his peers are just as clued up, because they’ve got the time, the inclination and the access to technology. if there’s a message to come out of this, it’s probably a nudge to technophobic25) parents to devote some time towards getting good advice and to familiarize themselves with new technology—not just to maintain technological order at home, bu

t also because society increasingly demands it.

 “the government wants us to be able to do so much online,” says nigel houghton. “there are 650 services provided by various departments which are moving online—and there are all the incredibly useful things that internet connectivity can help with, such as getting cheaper utility bills.”
   and, seeing as our offspring probably wouldn’t have the patience to help us seek out a new electricity provider, maybe that’s a good place as any to begin striking out26) on our own.
   孩子们领会、使用和掌握最新技术产品的能力常常让我们目瞪口呆。wwW.11665.CoM你经常会从一些父母那里听到这样的故事:他们随手将平板电脑搁在了一边,等过了几个小时回来则发现,他们那还在蹒跚学步的孩子竟然正在用平板电脑玩游戏、上网看小猫或是开设离岸账户。
   年轻一代不知怎么地天生就更擅长使用新科技产品——这种观念正深入人心。约翰·路易斯百货公司最近的一项调查显示,有71%的父母承认,无论是在上网方面(设置社交网络的个人账户),还是在家中使用高科技产品(操作tivo数字录影机)时,他们都会向自己的孩子寻求技术方面的建议。也就是说,当成年人忙着养家糊口时,孩子们正渐渐成为我们的技术霸主。
   可是,这种情况是怎么出现的?为什么会出现这样的情况?为什么有的父母似乎也听任这样的情况发生呢?毕竟,现代用户界面变得越来越简单,至少从理论上说是为了让我们所有人都能操作而设计的,而非专门面向孩子的。尽管人们常说,孩子们觉得新技术很简单是因为他们是“伴着新技术长大的”,但他们三十多岁的父母很可能也是伴着新技术长大的。
   “如果你想当然地认为孩子们能靠直觉去做这些事情,那一定是种错觉,”简单电脑公司的总裁奈杰尔·霍顿说,“更多的情况是,孩子们不怕东瞧西瞧找办法,因而最终能把事情弄明白。”巴斯大学心理学高级讲师、《技术恐惧》一书的作者马克·布鲁斯南博士说,孩子们表面上对技术的熟练掌握与其年幼没什么关系。“如果他们用三根手指滑过平板电脑的屏幕,这看上去像是一种本能的手势,”他说,“但这是因为他们以前见过有人这么做。他们不过是对潜在的解决方案有着极佳的直接经验而已。”
   很多成年人早年使用的windows 95电脑与21世纪造型精巧的触屏设备之间有着天壤之别,后者更适合娱乐和交流。所以,孩子们会比时间紧迫的父母们花更多的时间去仔细研究触屏设备,这没什么值得惊奇的。
   “这成了关乎意愿的事,”约翰·路易斯百货公司负责电信及技术采购的主管马特·利泽说,“无论你是在讨论windows 8还是智能电视,问题的关键都在于你是否愿意费点心思去学会如何使用它。”不过,这也和学习的过程本身有关。“当孩子们拿到一款新设备时,他们会和小伙伴们互相谈论,经历一个互换信息的过程,”霍顿说道,他的公司专门制作更加简便、快捷的电脑界面,“但是,当年长一些的人看到比自己年轻的人在自如地操作这些设备时,会产生一种畏难情绪:‘天哪,’他们会想,‘我就不会那个,我一定很笨。’”
   养成这种懒惰的心态很容易,但要克服它也不难。“我研究过与焦虑和技术相关的一些问题,”布鲁斯南说道,“在那些最自信、最开心、最不焦虑的网络用户中,有一些65岁以上的银发网民。这很大程度上是因为他们都退休了,有空闲的时间,又没有压力——没人观察他们在做什么,也没人评价他们用得怎么样。”
   换句话说,一个人同科技产品的关系有多牢固似乎取决于其有多少闲暇的时间。不幸的是,父母们缺少的正是闲暇时光。所以他们得向孩子们请教技术方面的问题。这可以被视为家庭单位内的一种权威逆转,这种逆转很有趣,但也引发了许多问题,有经济方面的,也有道德方面的。“我们发现,孩子们会根据自己追赶的数字潮流来主导家庭购买科技产品的决定。”利泽说。
   “比如说,他们不太担心网络安全问题或是交互性问题。所以,我们要做的就是提供一些客观的建议。
  “最近有人对我说,如果你让孩子们去购买科技产品,那就像是把钥匙交给了囚犯。”
  这一比喻同样适用于将产品买回家之后的情形。这时,父母有责任去对这些科技产品进行足够的了解,以便监督孩子们的使用。但到头来,孩子们知道的却比大人们所认为的要多得多。“如果我是个孩子,当我的父母问我哪些网站我不应该去看时,”利泽说,“我当然不会告诉他们。如果他们问我怎样屏蔽那些网站,我同样不会告诉他们。”
   45岁的阿哈德·素罗普拉贾利有个儿子,名叫哈比布,才九岁,但他在运用科技产品方面已经大大超过他老爸了。“哈比布应该在固定的时间上床睡觉,” 阿哈德说,“但是,当我在看电影时,他会远程登录到我的苹果电视上,然后关掉它……类似的事情还有,一次我让一个朋友给电脑设了限制,这样哈比布每天只有30分钟的上网时间。但他却把自己设成了管理员,让自己一天能上两个小时的网。”哈比布自己觉得这么做超级有趣,但在被问及他是如何获得这些知识时,他却闪烁其词。“哦,从网上。”他咯咯地笑着说。那你得到过朋友们的指点吗?“说实话,我不太需要。”他回答道。
   你可能会认为哈比布是一个神童,远远超过了同龄的其他孩子。但与他同龄的其他孩子很可能也同样在行,因为他们有时间、有意愿也有机会去接触新科技。如果说这里想传达出什么信息的话,那或许就是要敦促那些对新技术心怀恐惧的父母去花点时间获取好的建议,让自己熟悉新技术——不仅是为了维持家中的技术秩序,也是因为社会越来越需要他们这样做。

“政府希望我们能通过网络做很多事,” 奈杰尔· 霍顿说,“现在各个部门都在利用网络,他们提供了650种在线服务——通过接入互联网,很多极为实用的服务都能得以实现,比如获取更便宜的水电费账单。”
   鉴于我们的后代很可能没有耐心去帮我们找到新的电力供应商,或许,网络和其他任何新领域一样,是我们开始独自探索的好地方。
  1. toddler [?t?dl?(r)] n. 学步的儿童
  2. offshore bank account:离岸账户,也叫osa账户。在金融学上指存款人在其居住国家以外开设的银行账户。
  3. take hold:生根;固定下来;确立
  4. john lewis:约翰·路易斯百货公司

,英国伦敦最大的百货公司
  5. tivo:一种硬盘数字录像设备,能帮助人们非常方便地录下和筛选电视上播放过的节目。
  6. overlord [???v?(r)?l??(r)d] n. 最高统治者;霸主
  7. user interface:[计]用户界面
  8. gear [ɡ??(r)] vt. 使适合
  9. immediate experience:直接经验
  10. cut one’s teeth on:早年学习(或使用)
  11. sleek [sli?k] adj. 线条明快的,造型优美的;光滑的
  12. get to grips with:〈喻〉开始应付(难题、挑战等)
  13. time-starved [?ta?mstɑ?(r)vd] adj. 时间宝贵的,时间紧迫的
  14. swap [sw?p] vt. 交换
  15. silver surfer:银发(年纪大的)互联网使用者
  16. function [?f??k?(?)n] n. 应变量,随他物的变化而变化的事物
  17. woefully [?w??f(?)li] adv. 可怜地;可悲地
  18. interoperability [??nt?(r)??p?r??b?l?ti] n. [计]交互性(指交换信息及共同使用已交换信息的能力)
  19. clue up:〈口〉对……知道的很多,对……精通
  20. give credit for:认为某人有(某种优点或能力)
  21. run rings around someone:显然胜过某人;大大超过某人
  22. coy [k??] adj. 含糊其辞的;不愿表态的
  23. whizz kid:神童,奇才
  24. streets ahead of:比……好得多;远远超出
  25. technophobic [?tekn???f??bik] adj. 对新技术感到恐惧的
  26. strike out:独立闯新路;开辟(道路等)
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