研究：社交媒體朋友再多也比不上現實生活中的幾個好友

朋友越多越快樂？最新研究顯示，朋友的數量與社交滿意度並沒有關係。數百個網絡好友也無法替代現實生活中的幾個密友。

Having hundreds of friends on Facebook is no substitute for a handful of close friends in real life, a study has found.

一項研究發現，在臉書上擁有數百個好友並不能替代現實生活中的幾個密友。

Researchers discovered that people with only a few friends were at least as happy as those with far more if many of theirs were online.

研究人員發現，只有幾個好友的人與那些有更多好友、但很多隻在網上交流的人們的幸福感基本相當。

The number of 'peripheral others' someone connected with online – former classmates and coworkers, for example – had no bearing on how satisfied they felt.

在網上聯繫的老同學和同事等“外圍他人”的數量與人們的社交滿意度沒有任何關係。

peripheral [pəˈrɪfərəl]：adj.外圍的；次要的

Social media, the researchers said, has encouraged younger people to have larger but more impersonal networks of 'friends'.

研究人員稱，社交媒體鼓勵年輕人擁有更大但更沒有人情味的“朋友”網絡。

But instead of trying to amass friends, they added, a better cure for loneliness might be spending time with those you're closest to.

他們補充說，與其試圖廣交朋友，不如花點時間和最親密的人在一起，這可能是避免孤獨的更好方法。

Scientists from the University of Leeds did their study using data from two online surveys conducted on 1,496 people by a non-profit research organisation.

利茲大學的科學家們利用一個非盈利研究機構對1496人進行的兩項在線調查數據進行了研究。

People taking part in the study revealed their ages, the make-up of their social networks, how often they had different types of social interactions, and their own feelings of wellbeing.

參與研究的人透露了他們的年齡、社交網絡的構成、他們進行不同類型社交互動的頻率，以及自身的幸福感。

They included details of how often and how they interacted with family or neighbours, and whether they included people who provided services to them in their networks.

這些信息包括他們與家人或鄰居互動的頻率和方式，以及他們的朋友中是否包括爲他們提供服務的人。

The number of close friends someone had appeared to be the only thing which influenced how satisfied they were with their social life.

一個人親密朋友的數量似乎是影響他們對社交生活滿意度的唯一因素。

'Loneliness has less to do with the number of friends you have, and more to do with how you feel about your friends,' said Dr Wändi Bruine de Bruin.

萬迪•布魯因•德布魯因博士說：“孤獨與你擁有的朋友數量關係不大，而與你對朋友的感覺關係很大。”

'It's often the younger adults who admit to having negative perceptions of their friends. Loneliness occurs in people of all ages.

“承認自己對朋友有負面看法的往往是年輕人。各個年齡段的人都可能感到孤獨。”

'If you feel lonely, it may be more helpful to make a positive connection with a friend than to try and seek out new people to meet.'

“如果你感到孤獨，與一位朋友建立積極的聯繫可能比嘗試結識新朋友更有幫助。”

In her study Dr Bruine de Bruin found older people tended to have smaller social networks.

在她的研究中，布魯因•德布魯因博士發現年紀大的人社交網絡更小。

Younger people's were larger but this was mostly made up of 'peripheral others' – not true friends, just people they knew – and did not contribute to their happiness.

年輕人的社交網絡規模更大，但這些人大多是“邊緣人”，不是真正的朋友，只是他們認識的人，對他們的幸福感沒有貢獻。

Even variations in the number of family members or neighbours somebody spent time with did not affect how happy they were with their social life.

即使是家庭成員或經常來往的鄰居數量的變化也對社交生活的滿意度沒有影響。

Dr Bruine de Bruin said her research echoed other findings showing people reported being happier if a larger proportion of their online friends were actually their friends in reality.

布魯因•德布魯因博士說，她的研究與其他研究結果相呼應，這些發現表明，如果網絡上交流的朋友中大部分在現實生活中也是朋友，人們會更快樂。

She added: 'Stereotypes of aging tend to paint older adults in many cultures as sad and lonely.

她補充說：“在很多文化中，人們對老年人的刻板印象往往是悲傷和孤獨的。”

'But the research shows that older adults' smaller networks didn't undermine social satisfaction and well-being.

“但研究表明，老年人較小的社交網絡並不會影響他們的社交滿意度和幸福感。”

'In fact, older adults tend to report better well-being than younger adults.'

“事實上，老年人往往比年輕人更幸福。”

The research was published in the journal Psychology and Aging.

這項研究發表在《心理學與衰老》雜誌上。