Why do people take "selfies?" 

為什么人們愛自拍？

Researchers at Syracuse University in New York tried to answer that question.  

紐約雪城大學的研究人員試圖找出個中緣由。

They came up with some surprising answers. 

他們得出了一些令人驚訝的結果。

People who post selfies and use editing software to make themselves look better show behavior connected to narcissism, the Syracuse researchers said. 

雪城大學的研究人員稱，那些發(fā)自拍并使用美圖軟件修圖的人表現出了與自戀相關的行為。

Narcissists are people who think very highly of themselves, especially how they look. 

自戀者是指對自己有著高度評價的人，尤其是對外貌方面。

Ji Won Kim, a doctoral student at the university's S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, worked on the study.  

雪城大學薩繆爾·紐豪斯公共傳播學院的博士生金智媛（Ji Won Kim）參與了這項研究。

She said because social media can be superficial, it is a good place for people to "work towards satisfying their own vanity." 

她表示，因為社交媒體是膚淺的，也是人們“盡力滿足自己虛榮心”的平臺。

By superficial, she means social media is mostly used by people to share unimportant information about their lives -- not deeply personal issues. 

這里的“膚淺”是指人們多用社交媒體分享生活中一些不重要的信息，而不是深度的個人問題。

There are other reasons, besides narcissism, that people post selfies. 

除了自戀的因素外，人們發(fā)自拍還有其它原因。

People who post group selfies show a need for popularity and a need to belong to a group, the Syracuse University research found. 

雪城大學的這一研究發(fā)現，發(fā)集體自拍的人表現出了對人氣的需求以及對某個團隊的歸屬需求。

Other findings from the study include: 

該研究獲得的其它研究結果還包括：

There are no major differences on how often men and women post selfies and how often they use editing software.  

男性和女性發(fā)自拍及使用美圖軟件的頻率并沒有太大的區(qū)別。

But men who post selfies showed more of a need to be seen as popular than women who posted selfies. 

然而，發(fā)自拍的男性比女性更想表現出自己受歡迎。

The Newhouse School's Associate Professor Makana Chock worked on the study.  

紐豪斯公共傳播學院的副教授馬卡那（Makana Chock）從事了這項研究。

She said selfies should not be seen as completely negative. 

她說，自拍不應該被完全否定。

She said some people feel "peer pressure" to post selfies.  

她說，有些人迫于“同伴壓力”才發(fā)自拍。

And some follow the popular belief that if there is no picture of an event or experience, it did not really happen. 

還有的人跟風一種流行觀點——正所謂“無圖無真相”。

Chock said posting selfies on social media is not all that different from what people have done for many years. 

馬卡那表示，在社交媒體上發(fā)自拍與人們多年來的日常行為并無區(qū)別。

On trips and special events, our parents and grandparents used cameras instead of phones to take photos.  

在旅行過程或某一特殊活動中，父母和祖父母們拍照會使用相機而不是手機。

Before social media, people would bring back photos to show friends and family.  

在社交媒體誕生前，人們會把照片向親友展示。

You had no choice but to look at them. 

除了欣賞照片，你別無他選。

If you are a nice person, you commented about how nice everyone in the photos looked, especially children and the person showing the photos.  

如果你心地友善，你會挨個兒夸一下照片里的人，尤其是兒童和展示照片的人。

That was the old way of "clicking" like. 

這就是那個時代的“點贊”。

On social media, it is a different experience.  

而社交媒體時代帶來的是一種全新的體驗。

People can decide not to look at photos of their friends and family -- even if they click "like" or even "love" under the Facebook selfie. 

人們可以選擇不看親友的照片，即使他們在Facebook的照片下方點了“喜歡”甚至“超愛”。

Using social media to post photos is pretty new.  

利用社交媒體“曬照”十分新潮。

Facebook did not start until 2004. Instagram started in 2010. 

2004年，Facebook才成立，2010年，Instagram才成立。

It was not until 2013 that the Oxford English language dictionary added the term "selfies." It defined selfie as "a photograph that one has taken of oneself." 

2013年，牛津英語詞典添加了“自拍”一詞，并給出釋義“為自己拍的照片?！?/p>

Here is how the Syracuse researchers did their study. 

下面是雪城大學研究人員的研究過程。

They questioned 260 people, aged 18 to 65, and almost evenly divided between men and women. 

他們調查了260位年齡在18歲到65歲的人士，并且男女人數幾乎持平。

To determine narcissism, people were asked if they agreed with personality traits connected to narcissism.  

為了確定自戀，人們會被問及是否認同一些與自戀相關的人格特點。

For example, people were asked if they agreed with statements such as, "I like to be the center of attention" and "I like having authority over people." 

例如，人們被問及是否認同類似“我喜歡成為眾人焦點”或“我喜歡享有權威”這類表達。

To determine if those in the study had a need to be seen as popular, people were asked if they agreed with these statements:  

為了確定調查對象是否想表現出自己受歡迎，研究人員會問他們是否認可這類表達：

"It's important that people think I'm popular" and "I often do things just to be popular with people at school." 

“讓他人覺得我受歡迎很重要”以及“我做的事情只是為了在學校受歡迎。”

I'm Bruce Alpert. 

布魯斯·阿爾珀特為您播報。

【詞匯解析】

1.personality trait 人格特征

Chronic worrying, anxiety and being prone to depression are key aspects of the personality trait of neuroticism.
長期煩惱、焦慮以及易于消沉是神經質性人格特點的關鍵。

2.belong to 屬于

Earls, princes, and kings belong to the nobility.
伯爵、親王和國王屬于貴族。

3.social media 社交媒體

We have all witnessed the power of social media.
我們見證了社交媒體的實力。

4.bring back 帶回；取回

Your article brought back sad memories for me.
你的文章使我想起了傷心的往事。