3 fears about screen time for kids -- and why they're not true | Sara DeWitt

翻译人员: Hong Li 校对人员: 小白兔 白又白

I want us to start by thinking about this device,

首先，我们都来想想这台设备，

the phone that's very likely in your pockets right now.

你口袋里现在很有可能 就有这么一部手机。

Over 40 percent of Americans check their phones

超过40%的美国人

within five minutes of waking up every morning.

会在每天醒来后的五分钟内 查看他们的手机。

And then they look at it another 50 times during the day.

之后在当天剩下的时间里 还会再看50次。

Grownups consider this device to be a necessity.

成年人将手机视为生活必需品。

But now I want you to imagine it in the hands of a three-year-old,

但现在我要你们想象一下， 如果这部手机在三岁小孩的手里，

and as a society, we get anxious.

整个社会是不是都会焦虑起来。

Parents are very worried

父母们非常担心

that this device is going to stunt their children's social growth;

手机会阻碍孩子们的社交进程，

that it's going to keep them from getting up and moving;

会让他们越来越少站起来活动，

that somehow,

他们认为，

this is going to disrupt childhood.

这会毁了孩子的童年。

So, I want to challenge this attitude.

但是，我想来反驳这种观点。

I can envision a future

我能想象的未来是

where we would be excited to see a preschooler interacting with a screen.

我们乐于见到学龄前的孩子 与屏幕进行互动。

These screens can get kids up and moving even more.

而这些屏幕能让孩子们 更多地起来活动。

They have the power to tell us more about what a child is learning

它们比标准化的考试 更能向我们反映出

than a standardized test can.

孩子们学到了什么。

And here's the really crazy thought:

我甚至还有一种疯狂的想法：

I believe that these screens have the power

我相信这些屏幕有能力

to prompt more real-life conversations

促进孩子和父母有更多地

between kids and their parents.

进行生活日常的交流。

Now, I was perhaps an unlikely champion for this cause.

当然，我在这件事上 也许没什么发言权。

I studied children's literature

我过去研究过儿童文学，

because I was going to work with kids and books.

因为我本想跟孩子和书籍打交道。

But about 20 years ago,

但是20年前，

I had an experience that shifted my focus.

我经历了一件事，改变了我的初衷。

I was helping lead a research study about preschoolers and websites.

我领导了一项研究， 是关于学龄前儿童和网站的。

And I walked in and was assigned a three-year-old named Maria.

我被分配到一个 3岁的孩子，叫玛丽亚。

Maria had actually never seen a computer before.

玛丽亚以前从未见过电脑。

So the first thing I had to do was teach her how to use the mouse,

于是我的首要任务是教她用鼠标，

and when I opened up the screen, she moved it across the screen,

在我点亮屏幕之后， 她在屏幕上移动光标，

and she stopped on a character named X the Owl.

并把它停在一个名叫 ”猫头鹰X“的角色上面。

And when she did that,

她刚做完这个操作，

the owl lifted his wing and waved at her.

猫头鹰挥动翅膀，冲她打招呼。

Maria dropped the mouse, pushed back from the table, leaped up

玛丽亚丢下鼠标， 把自己推离桌子，跳下椅子

and started waving frantically back at him.

然后向猫头鹰疯狂地挥手。

Her connection to that character

她跟猫头鹰这个角色的联系

was visceral.

是出于本能的。

This wasn't a passive screen experience.

这不是一种消极的屏幕体验。

This was a human experience.

而是一种人性的体验。

And it was exactly appropriate for a three-year-old.

对于一个3岁的孩子来说 是非常合适的。

I've now worked at PBS Kids for more than 15 years,

我在公共电视网儿童频道 工作15年多了，

and my work there is focused on harnessing the power of technology

我的工作重点是利用技术的力量

as a positive in children's lives.

给孩子的生活带来积极的影响。

I believe that as a society, we're missing a big opportunity.

我认为，从整个社会的层面来讲， 我们正在错失一个巨大的机会。

We're letting our fear and our skepticism

我们对于电子设备的恐惧和怀疑

about these devices

蒙蔽了我们，

hold us back from realizing their potential

让我们看不到这些设备

in our children's lives.

在孩子们生活中的潜力。

Fear about kids and technology is nothing new;

我们对孩子和技术的担忧 并不是新事物，

we've been here before.

之前就已经经历过了。

Over 50 years ago, the debate was raging about the newly dominant media:

50多年前，我们就有过激烈的讨论， 关于一种新兴的、占主导地位的媒体：

the television.

电视。

That box in the living room?

那个放在客厅的盒子？

It might be separating kids from one another.

它可能会造成孩子间的疏远。

It might keep them away from the outside world.

可能会让孩子天天待在家里。

But this is the moment when Fred Rogers,

就在那个时候，弗雷德·罗杰斯，

the long-running host of "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood,"

他是常青节目 《罗杰斯先生的邻居们》的主持人，

challenged society to look at television as a tool,

他呼吁社会将电视看作一种工具，

a tool that could promote emotional growth.

一种可以促进情感成长的工具。

Here's what he did:

他是这么做的：

he looked out from the screen, and he held a conversation,

他面向电视机前的小朋友聊天时

as if he were speaking to each child individually

就像他逐个在和每个孩子

about feelings.

聊他们的感受。

And then he would pause

之后他会稍作停顿，

and let them think about them.

让孩子们自己思考。

You can see his influence across the media landscape today,

如今，他对媒体界的影响力 随处可见，

but at the time, this was revolutionary.

但在当时，这是具有革命性的。

He shifted the way we looked at television in the lives of children.

他改变了我们如何看待电视 在儿童成长中起的作用。

Today it's not just one box.

现在不光只有电视。

Kids are surrounded by devices.

孩子们被各种设备包围。

And I'm also a parent -- I understand this feeling of anxiety.

我也有孩子， 我理解这种焦虑的心情。

But I want us to look at three common fears

但我想来分析一下 最常见的3种担忧，

that parents have,

父母们都会有，

and see if we can shift our focus

看我们是不是有办法

to the opportunity that's in each of them.

把关注点放在 其中可能出现的机会上面。

So.

那么，

Fear number one:

第一种担忧是：

"Screens are passive.

“电子屏幕都是消极的。

This is going to keep our kids from getting up and moving."

这会让我们的孩子久坐不起。”

Chris Kratt and Martin Kratt are zoologist brothers

克里斯·克拉特和马丁·克拉特 俩兄弟都是动物学家，

who host a show about animals called "Wild Kratts."

他们主持一档关于动物的节目， 叫“野生克拉特”。

And they approached the PBS team to say,

他们找到公共电视网，说，

"Can we do something with those cameras

“我们能不能利用一下

that are built into every device now?

如今每台设备上都有的摄像头。

Could those cameras capture a very natural kid play pattern --

能不能让摄像头拍下 孩子们玩耍的动作

pretending to be animals?"

比如：扮动物？”

So we started with bats.

我们从蝙蝠开始。

And when kids came in to play this game,

孩子们开始玩这个游戏，

they loved seeing themselves on-screen with wings.

他们看到自己在屏幕上 长出翅膀的样子特别开心。

But my favorite part of this,

但最让我开心的是，

when the game was over and we turned off the screens?

当游戏结束，我们关掉屏幕，

The kids kept being bats.

孩子们依然在扮蝙蝠。

They kept flying around the room,

他们在房间里飞来飞去，

they kept veering left and right to catch mosquitoes.

左右变向来抓蚊子。

And they remembered things.

他们能学到东西。

They remembered that bats fly at night.

他们能记住蝙蝠只在夜里飞行。

And they remembered that when bats sleep,

能记住蝙蝠在睡觉的时候，

they hang upside down and fold their wings in.

是倒挂着的，翅膀会收回来。

This game definitely got kids up and moving.

这个游戏绝对会让孩子们动起来。

But also, now when kids go outside,

不仅如此，当孩子们出门的时候，

do they look at a bird and think,

他们看到鸟儿的时候会想，

"How does a bird fly differently than I flew

“鸟儿飞的时候跟我变成蝙蝠的时候

when I was a bat?"

有没有不同呢？”

The digital technology prompted embodied learning

数字技术促进了具象化学习的发展，

that kids can now take out into the world.

孩子们可以应用到现实生活中。

Fear number two:

第二种担忧：

"Playing games on these screens is just a waste of time.

“玩游戏是浪费时间。

It's going to distract children from their education."

会让孩子们分心，影响学习。”

Game developers know

游戏开发者知道，

that you can learn a lot about a player's skill

可以通过分析后端数据

by looking at the back-end data:

来了解玩家的技能：

Where did a player pause?

玩家会在什么地方暂停？

Where did they make a few mistakes before they found the right answer?

他们会在什么地方犯错误， 直到找到正确答案？

My team wanted to take that tool set and apply it to academic learning.

我的团队想把这套工具 用在学校教育上。

Our producer in Boston, WGBH,

我们在波士顿WGBH电视台的 制作人，

created a series of Curious George games

制作了一系列《好奇猴乔治》的游戏

focused on math.

是关于数学的。

And researchers came in and had 80 preschoolers play these games.

研究人员让80名 学龄前儿童玩了这些游戏。

They then gave all 80 of those preschoolers

之后他们对这80名孩子

a standardized math test.

进行了标准化的数学测试。

We could see early on

我们的最初结论是

that these games were actually helping kids

这些游戏能帮助孩子们

understand some key skills.

理解一些关键的技能。

But our partners at UCLA wanted us to dig deeper.

但我们在加州大学洛杉矶分校的 合作者想要我们研究得更深入一些。

They focus on data analysis and student assessment.

他们专注于数据分析和学生评估。

And they wanted to take that back-end game-play data

他们想分析那些游戏生成的 后端数据，

and see if they could use it to predict a child's math scores.

看能不能用来预测 孩子的数学考试分数。

So they made a neural net -- they essentially trained the computer

于是他们搭建了一套神经网络—— 简单来说就是训练计算机

to use this data,

来使用这些数据，

and here are the results.

分析结果如下。

This is a subset of the children's standardized math scores.

这是孩子们所做的 标准化数学测试的分数。

And this

而这个

is the computer's prediction of each child's score,

是计算机基于玩《好奇猴乔治》 的游戏数据，

based on playing some Curious George games.

对孩子们分数的预测。

The prediction is astonishingly accurate,

这个预测惊人的精确，

especially considering the fact that these games weren't built

尤其要考虑到， 这些游戏，

for assessment.

并不是为了这次评估而设计的。

The team that did this study believes that games like these

进行这项研究的团队认为， 这样的游戏

can teach us more about a child's cognitive learning

跟那些标准化测试相比，

能让我们掌握更多 关于孩子认知能力学习的信息。

than a standardized test can.

What if games could reduce testing time in the classroom?

如果游戏能减少孩子们 坐在教室里考试的时间？

What if they could reduce testing anxiety?

如果游戏能降低考试带来的焦虑？

How could they give teachers snapshots of insight

那么游戏是不是可以 让老师更直观的察觉，

to help them better focus their individualized learning?

从而帮助他们为孩子们制定 更加个性化的学习策略？

So the third fear I want to address

我想说的第三种担忧，

is the one that I think is often the biggest.

通常也是最大的一种。

And that's this:

就是：

"These screens are isolating me from my child."

“这些电子屏幕 让我和我的孩子疏远了。”

Let's play out a scenario.

让我们来设想一个场景。

Let's say that you are a parent,

你是一名家长，

and you need 25 minutes of uninterrupted time

你需要25分钟不被打断的时间

to get dinner ready.

来准备晚餐。

And in order to do that, you hand a tablet to your three-year-old.

为了做到这一点， 你把平板电脑递给了3岁的孩子。

Now, this is a moment where you probably feel very guilty

也许这个时候， 你会觉得非常愧疚，

about what you just did.

对于自己刚刚的所作所为。

But now imagine this:

但想象一下：

Twenty minutes later, you receive a text message.

20分钟后，你收到一条短信。

on that cell phone that's always within arm's reach.

就在你那台永远近在咫尺的手机上。

And it says: "Alex just matched five rhyming words.

短信说的是：“亚里克斯 刚刚填对了5个押韵的词。

Ask him to play this game with you.

让他跟你一起玩这个游戏吧。

Can you think of a word that rhymes with 'cat'?

你能想到一个跟‘猫’押韵的词吗？

Or how about 'ball'?"

或者跟‘球’押韵？”

In our studies, when parents receive simple tips like these,

我们的研究发现， 如果父母收到这样的小提示，

they felt empowered.

他们会觉得自己掌控了一切。

They were so excited

他们会感到非常高兴

to play these games at the dinner table with their kids.

能够跟孩子们在餐桌上一起玩游戏。

And the kids loved it, too.

孩子们也喜欢这样。

Not only did it feel like magic that their parents knew

他们不仅因为父母居然知道 自己刚刚在玩什么，

what they had been playing,

而感到非常神奇，

kids love to play games with their parents.

而且他们喜欢跟父母一起玩游戏。

Just the act of talking to kids about their media

仅仅跟孩子们讨论他们使用的媒体， 这件事情本身

can be incredibly powerful.

就有令人难以置信的力量。

Last summer, Texas Tech University published a study

去年夏天，德州理工大学 公布了一项研究结果，

that the show "Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood" could promote

证明《小老虎丹尼尔》这档节目

the development of empathy among children.

可以促进孩子们的情感成长。

But there was a really important catch to this study:

但这个研究有一个重要的关键点：

the greatest benefit was only when parents talked to kids

只有当父母跟孩子讨论 他们所看的节目时，

about what they watched.

效果才会最好。

Neither just watching

仅仅是看节目

nor just talking about it was enough;

或者只谈不看，都不够，

it was the combination that was key.

两者结合才是关键。

So when I read this study,

因此，当我读到这项研究的时候，

I started thinking about

我开始思考，

how rarely parents of preschoolers actually talk to kids about the content

学龄前儿童的父母 几乎很少跟孩子们讨论

of what they're playing and what they're watching.

他们在玩什么或者他们在看什么。

And so I decided to try it with my four-year-old.

于是我决定跟我4岁的孩子尝试一下。

I said,

我说，

"Were you playing a car game earlier today?"

“你今天是不是 玩了一个汽车的游戏啊？”

And Benjamin perked up and said,

本杰明振奋起来，说，

"Yes! And did you see that I made my car out of a pickle?

“是呀！你看到我用腌黄瓜 做的汽车了吗？

It was really hard to open the trunk."

它的后备箱真是很难打开。”

(Laughter)

（笑声）

This hilarious conversation about what was fun in the game

于是那天早上我们聊得很欢，

关于这个游戏多么有趣， 怎么才能做得更好，

and what could have been better

continued all the way to school that morning.

一路聊到他的学校门口。

I'm not here to suggest to you that all digital media is great for kids.

我今天并不是想说 所有的电子媒体对孩子都好。

There are legitimate reasons for us to be concerned

我们有理由担忧

about the current state of children's content

如今的孩子们流连于各种屏幕

on these screens.

不能自拔。

And it's right for us to be thinking about balance:

我们也有理由考虑平衡的问题：

Where do screens fit against all the other things

怎样才能让电子产品融入

that a child needs to do to learn and to grow?

孩子学习和成长所需要的其他事中？

But when we fixate on our fears about it,

但是当我们一心担忧的时候，

we forget a really major point,

我们忘记了很重要的一点，

and that is, that kids are living in the same world that we live in,

孩子们跟我们同处一个世界，

the world where the grownups check their phones

在这个世界里，成年人看手机

more than 50 times a day.

每天超过50次。

Screens are a part of children's lives.

电子产品已经是孩子们 生活的一部分。

And if we pretend that they aren't,

如果我们不愿承认这一点，

or if we get overwhelmed by our fear,

或者我们被担忧冲昏了头脑，

kids are never going to learn how and why to use them.

孩子们就永远不会明白 使用它们的原因和方法。

What if we start raising our expectations

我们何不对这种媒介

for this media?

多一点期待？

What if we start talking to kids regularly

我们何不经常跟孩子们

about the content on these screens?

讨论一下他们看的内容？

What if we start looking for the positive impacts

我们何不多考虑一下这种技术

能给孩子们带来的正面影响？

that this technology can have in our children's lives?

That's when the potential of these tools can become a reality.

到那时，这些工具的潜力 才能得以实现。

Thank you.

谢谢大家。

(Applause)

（掌声）