Stefana Broadbent: How the Internet enables intimacy

譯者: Xu Jiang 審譯者: Marie Wu

I believe that there are new, hidden tensions

我相信在人們和各種機構之間，

that are actually happening between people and institutions --

目前正存在著一些新的、不為人知的緊張關係--

institutions that are the institutions that people

這些機構就是人們

inhabit in their daily life:

平常會待的場所，像是：

schools, hospitals, workplaces,

學校、醫院、工作場所、

factories, offices, etc.

工廠、辦公室等等。

And something that I see happening

我看到一些正在發生的事情，

is something that I would like to call

我會把那些事情稱之為

a sort of "democratization of intimacy."

「親密關係的民主化」。

And what do I mean by that?

這是什麼意思呢？

I mean that what people are doing

我是說，人們在做的，

is, in fact, they are sort of, with their communication channels,

實際上是利用他們自己的溝通管道，

they are breaking an imposed isolation

來打破這些機構

that these institutions are imposing on them.

強加於他們身上的隔離與孤立。

How are they doing this? They're doing it

他們是如何做到的呢？非常簡單，

in a very simple way, by calling their mom from work,

工作的時候打個電話給媽媽、

by IMing from their office to their friends,

從辦公室裡發即時訊息給朋友們、

by texting under the desk.

在桌子底下發簡訊。

The pictures that you're seeing behind me

你在我身後看到的照片，

are people that I visited in the last few months.

是我過去幾個月所採訪的人。

And I asked them to come along with the person they communicate with most.

我請他們說出一個他們最常溝通的人，

And somebody brought a boyfriend, somebody a father.

有些人說是男朋友，有些人說是父親，

One young woman brought her grandfather.

有位年輕的女士說是她的祖父。

For 20 years, I've been looking at how people use

20年來，我一直在探討人們

channels such as email, the mobile phone, texting, etc.

如何使用像是電子郵件、手機及簡訊等溝通管道。

What we're actually going to see is that, fundamentally,

實際上我們將要看到的是，基本上，

people are communicating on a regular basis

人們會定期

with five, six, seven of their most intimate sphere.

與自己最親密的五、六或七個人溝通。

Now, lets take some data. Facebook.

現在舉一些數據做例子--臉書網站--

Recently some sociologists from Facebook --

最近，一些來自臉書網站的社會學家-

Facebook is the channel that you would expect

臉書網站是所有溝通管道中

is the most enlargening of all channels.

擴展最迅速的一個。

And an average user,

一位普通用戶

said Cameron Marlow,

卡梅隆．馬洛說，

from Facebook, has about 120 friends.

在臉書網站上，他大約有120名朋友。

But he actually talks to,

但是他實際上有交談、

has two-way exchanges with, about four to six people

並定期互動的只有4個到6個朋友，

on a regular base, depending on his gender.

要看對方的性別來決定。

Academic research on instant messaging

對即時訊息的學術研究，

also shows 100 people on buddy lists,

也顯示有100個好友的人，

but fundamentally people chat with two, three, four --

實際上只會和其中兩個、三個、或四個人聊天，

anyway, less than five.

反正人數不超過五個。

My own research on cellphones and voice calls

我自己針對手機和網路電話的研究，

shows that 80 percent of the calls

則顯示百分之八十的電話，

are actually made to four people. 80 percent.

實際上只集中打給四個人。百分之八十。

And when you go to Skype, it's down to two people.

如果只針對Skype網路電話的話，人數則下降到只剩二個人。

A lot of sociologists actually are quite disappointed.

實際上很多社會學家很失望，

I mean, I've been a bit disappointed sometimes

我的意思是，我有時也有點失望，

when I saw this data and all this deployment, just for five people.

尤其是當我看到這些數據和我為研究投入的心血時，只有五個人耶...

And some sociologists actually feel that

實際上有些社會學家則認為，

it's a closure, it's a cocooning,

這就是封閉，就像是在一個繭裡，

that we're disengaging from the public.

這是在逃避人群。

And I would actually, I would like to show you that

事實上，我想告訴你們，

if we actually look at who is doing it,

如果我們認真觀察是誰在做這件事，

and from where they're doing it,

又是從什麼地方做這件事，

actually there is an incredible social transformation.

你就會發現一個難以置信的社會變化。

There are three stories that I think are quite good examples.

我想到3個故事，可以當成很好的例子。

The first gentleman, he's a baker.

首先是一位男士，他是個麵包師父。

And so he starts working every morning at four o'clock in the morning.

他每天早上4點鐘開始工作，

And around eight o'clock he sort of sneaks away from his oven,

到大約 8點鐘的時候，他就偷偷地離開烤箱，

cleans his hands from the flour

洗去手上的麵粉，

and calls his wife.

打電話給他的妻子。

He just wants to wish her a good day, because that's the start of her day.

他只是想問候一下他的妻子，因為妻子剛剛起床。

And I've heard this story a number of times.

下面這個故事，我已經聽了好幾遍了。

A young factory worker who works night shifts,

一位年輕的夜班工人，

who manages to sneak away from the factory floor,

他偷偷地離開工廠，

where there is CCTV by the way,

因為有監視器，

and find a corner, where at 11 o'clock at night

所以他找了個角落，然後在11點的時候

he can call his girlfriend and just say goodnight.

打個電話給他的女朋友，只為了說聲晚安。

Or a mother who, at four o'clock,

還有就是某個母親，在4點鐘的時候，

suddenly manages to find a corner in the toilet

突然要在廁所裡找個角落，

to check that her children are safely home.

以便察看她的孩子們是否安全在家。

Then there is another couple, there is a Brazilian couple.

還有一對夫婦，巴西夫婦，

They've lived in Italy for a number of years.

他們住在義大利好幾年了，

They Skype with their families a few times a week.

他們每週都會用Skype網路電話和他們的家人通話個幾次。

But once a fortnight, they actually put the computer on their dining table,

但是每兩個星期，他們要把電腦放在飯桌上，

pull out the webcam and actually have dinner

打開網路攝影機，直接和他們

with their family in Sao Paulo. And they have a big event of it.

在聖保羅的家人共進晚餐，非常地隆重。

And I heard this story the first time a couple of years ago

而我第一次聽說以下這個故事是在幾年前，

from a very modest family

從一個非常有禮、從科索夫

of immigrants from Kosovo in Switzerland.

移民到瑞士的家庭聽來的，

They had set up a big screen in their living room,

他們在客廳放了一個很大的螢幕，

and every morning they had breakfast with their grandmother.

每天早晨他們都跟祖母一起吃早餐。

But Danny Miller, who is a very good anthropologist

但是丹尼．米勒，這一位很優秀的人類學家，

who is working on Filipina migrant women

他研究的對象是從菲律賓移民過來的女性，

who leave their children back in the Philippines,

這些女性將自己的小孩留在菲律賓，

was telling me about how much parenting is going on

丹尼告訴我這些女性是如何透過Skype網路電話

through Skype,

來扮演母親的角色，

and how much these mothers are engaged with their children through Skype.

而這些母親又是如何以Skype網路電話與他們的孩子緊緊相連。

And then there is the third couple. They are two friends.

下面第三位組是一對好朋友，

They chat to each other every day, a few times a day actually.

他們每天都要跟對方聊天，實際上是一天好幾次。

And finally, finally, they've managed to put

最後，他們決定

instant messaging on their computers at work.

將即時通訊軟體裝在他們工作的電腦上，

And now, obviously, they have it open.

而現在，很顯然的，他們一直保持在登入狀態，

Whenever they have a moment they chat to each other.

只要他們一有空，就跟對方聊天。

And this is exactly what we've been seeing

這就跟我們看到學校裡的

with teenagers and kids doing it in school, under the table,

青少年和孩子一樣，在桌子底下

and texting under the table to their friends.

發簡訊給自己的朋友。

So, none of these cases are unique.

這些例子沒有一個是特例。

I mean, I could tell you hundreds of them.

我是說，我可以告訴你上百個這樣的案例，

But what is really exceptional is the setting.

唯一例外的只是場景不同而已。

So, think of the three settings I've talked to you about:

想想我剛才講過的那三個場景：

factory, migration, office.

工廠、移民、辦公室。

But it could be in a school, it could be an administration,

但是它也有可能發生在學校，也可能是公家單位，

it could be a hospital.

也有可能在一個醫院。

Three settings that, if we just step back 15 years,

這三種場景，如果我們到回15年前，

if you just think back 15 years,

想想15年前，

when you clocked in,

當你打卡上班，

when you clocked in to an office,

打卡進入辦公室，

when you clocked in to a factory,

打卡進入工廠，

there was no contact for the whole duration of the time,

在整個上班過程中，與外界根本沒有任何聯繫，

there was no contact with your private sphere.

不能與自己私人的領域進行聯繫。

If you were lucky there was a public phone hanging in the corridor or somewhere.

如果你幸運，在走廊或者什麼地方會有一部公共電話；

If you were in management, oh, that was a different story.

如果你在管理階層，哦，那又不同了。

Maybe you had a direct line.

你可能會有專線，

If you were not, you maybe had to go through an operator.

如果你沒有，或許就要透過總機撥接電話。

But basically, when you walked into those buildings,

但是基本上，當你走進那些建築的時候，

the private sphere was left behind you.

你的私人生活就留在你身後了。

And this has become such a norm of our professional lives,

這已經變成了專業人士的標準，

such a norm and such an expectation.

既是標準，也是期望，

And it had nothing to do with technical capability.

但這卻跟專業能力沒有任何關係。

The phones were there. But the expectation was once you moved in there

電話就在那裡，但是大家希望你一旦開始工作，

your commitment was fully to the task at hand,

就要全力完成你手邊的工作，

fully to the people around you.

並全力配合你周圍的人，

That was where the focus had to be.

大家希望你能把注意力放在工作上。

And this has become such a cultural norm

而這也成了文化標準，

that we actually school our children for them to be capable to do this cleavage.

我們就是這樣教育我們的孩子，要有能力做出這樣的切割。

If you think nursery, kindergarten, first years of school

你想想托兒所、幼稚園、小學一年級，

are just dedicated to take away the children,

都極力想把孩子帶走，

to make them used to staying long hours away from their family.

讓他們適應長時間地離開家庭。

And then the school enacts perfectly well.

學校建立了一個完美的制度，

It mimics perfectly all the rituals that we will find in offices:

完美的模擬了我們將來在辦公室的模式，

rituals of entry, rituals of exit,

上班的模式、下班的模式、

the schedules, the uniforms in this country,

作息時間、國家所制訂的各種制度、

things that identify you, team-building activities,

辨識你身份的證件、團隊合作的活動等，

team building that will allow you to basically

基本上團隊合作活動會讓你

be with a random group of kids, or a random group of people

和任何一組孩子，或任何一群人在一起，

that you will have to be with for a number of time.

並和他們相處一段時間。

And of course, the major thing:

當然的，主要的事情是：

learn to pay attention,

學會專心、

to concentrate and focus your attention.

專注、集中你的注意力。

This only started about 150 years ago.

這也不過是150年前才開始的，

It only started with the birth of modern bureaucracy,

它始於現代官僚主義和

and of industrial revolution.

工業革命的誕生，

When people basically had to go somewhere else to work

從那時起，人人都要去別的地方工作

and carry out the work.

和執行任務。

And when with modern bureaucracy there was a very rational approach,

伴隨著現代官僚主義興起的，則是一種理性的區分，

where there was a clear distinction between the private sphere

將個人的私人領域和公共領域

and the public sphere.

清楚地劃分開來。

So, until then, basically people were living on top of their trades.

所以，從那時起，人們的頭銜便以其所做的生意命名、

They were living on top of the land they were laboring.

以其參與勞動的土地命名、

They were living on top of the workshops where they were working.

以其工作的工廠命名。

And if you think, it's permeated our whole culture,

想一想，這完全滲入了我們的文化，

even our cities.

甚至我們的城市。

If you think of medieval cities, medieval cities the boroughs

想一想，中世紀的城邦、各個行政區，

all have the names of the guilds and professions that lived there.

都有以設籍於該地的公會和職業來命名的例子。

Now we have sprawling residential suburbias

現在我們有廣闊的郊區住宅，

that are well distinct from production areas

和工業區及商業區

and commercial areas.

清楚地劃分開來。

And actually, over these 150 years,

事實上，在過去的150多年中，

there has been a very clear class system that also has emerged.

已經出現了一個明確的階級制度。

So the lower the status of the job

工作的層級愈低，

and of the person carrying out, the more removed

從事該項工作的人，

he would be from his personal sphere.

就愈得遠離他自己的私人領域。

People have taken this amazing possibility

人們驚訝地發現，

of actually being in contact all through the day

現在他們可以整天、不分場合地

or in all types of situations.

和別人進行聯繫。

And they are doing it massively.

他們大量地進行聯繫。

The Pew Institute, which produces good data

皮尤研究所會定期發佈可信數據，

on a regular basis on, for instance, in the States,

例如，他們的數據顯示，在美國--

says that -- and I think that this number is conservative --

我認為這個數據是保守的--

50 percent of anybody with email access at work

在工作中可以使用電子郵件的人，有百分之五十

is actually doing private email from his office.

都會從辦公室發送私人郵件。

I really think that the number is conservative.

我真的認為這個數據較保守。

In my own research, we saw that the peak for private email

根據我自己的研究，我們發現不論在哪個國家，

is actually 11 o'clock in the morning, whatever the country.

私人郵件在上午11點左右出現最多。

75 percent of people admit doing private

百分之七十五的人承認，

conversations from work on their mobile phones.

他們在工作的時候會用手機打私人電話，

100 percent are using text.

百分之百的人會發簡訊。

The point is that this re-appropriation of the personal sphere

重點是，這種佔用工作時間處理私事的情形，

is not terribly successful with all institutions.

並不是任何機構裡的任何人都能做到。

I'm always surprised the U.S. Army

我很驚訝美國軍方的

sociologists are discussing of the impact

社會學家正在討論某些議題，

for instance, of soldiers in Iraq

像是駐在伊拉克的士兵，

having daily contact with their families.

每天和家人聯繫會產生什麼影響。

But there are many institutions that are actually blocking this access.

但是有很多機構卻阻止這種聯繫。

And every day, every single day,

每天，每一天，

I read news that makes me cringe,

我只要讀到這樣的新聞，都會讓我害怕，

like a $15 fine

例如在德州，

to kids in Texas,

只要孩子在學校

for using, every time they take out their mobile phone in school.

拿出手機，就會被罰款15美金；

Immediate dismissal to bus drivers in New York,

紐約的公車司機只要被發現拿著手機，

if seen with a mobile phone in a hand.

就會被立即解僱；

Companies blocking access to IM or to Facebook.

有的公司則截斷同仁使用即時通訊或臉書網站的權限。

Behind issues of security and safety,

在資訊安全和人身安全的背後，

which have always been the arguments for social control,

大家總會針對社交掌控權進行爭論，

in fact what is going on is that

事實上，

these institutions are trying to decide

這些機構正試著決定，

who, in fact, has a right to self determine their attention,

實際上到底是誰有權利決定自己該做什麼，

to decide, whether they should, or not, be isolated.

或決定是否應該將員工隔離起來。

And they are actually trying to block, in a certain sense,

在某種程度上，這些機構其實是要阻礙人們，

this movement of a greater possibility of intimacy.

不讓人們彼此變得更為親密。