奇速英语

美国近一半青少年沉迷互联网

New research suggests that nearly half of American teenagers say they use the Internet “almost constantly.”

The United States-based Pew Research Center released a study this month. It found that the share of teens who say they are online almost all the time rose from 24 percent in 2015 to 46 percent this year. The results were based on a Pew public opinion study. The study involved 1,316 teens aged 13 to 17 years old. The research found that about 95 percent of American teens have smartphones. About 54 percent of teens questioned said it would be “hard” to give up social media, while 46 percent said it would be “easy.” About 25 percent of teen boys said giving up social media would be “very easy.” But just 15 percent of teen girls said the same.

Experts in online technology behavior have accused large technology companies of targeting teens with methods to get them to spend more time on their social media services. One method uses algorithms(算法) to repeatedly suggest content to keep users on the services for longer periods of time.

Child rights groups and U.S. Congress members have warned that heavy use of social media services can harm the mental health of young users. They have called on large technology companies to take steps to reduce such harm.

Several services—including Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok—have introduced features that they say are designed to make their services safer and more fitting for young users. The tools do offer some help, such as blocking unknown individuals from messaging children. But experts say the measures also come with weaknesses. For example, teens can get around limits if they lie about their age. The services also largely depend on parents to enforce(强行实施) rules. And the measures do little or nothing to limit inappropriate and harmful material suggested by algorithms.

“These platforms know that their algorithms can sometimes be amplifying(增强) harmful content, and they’re not taking steps to stop that,” said Irene Ly. She is a privacy advisor at the nonprofit group Common Sense Media based in San Francisco, California. She added that the longer teens spend on the services, the more profitable the technology companies become.