COLLEGE PARK, Md. - A new study by sociologists at the University of Maryland concludes that unhappy people watch more TV, while people who describe themselves as "very happy" spend more time reading and socializing. The study appears in the December issue of the journal Social Indicators Research.
美国马里兰州大学公园报道——由马里兰大学社会学家所作的一项新的研究得出结论，不幸福的人看更多电视，而声称自己“非常幸福”的人在阅读和社交活动花更多时间。这一研究发表在十二月份出版的《社会指数研究》杂志上。
Analyzing 30-years worth of national data from time use studies and a continuing series of social attitude surveys, the Maryland researchers report that spending time watching television may contribute to viewers' happiness in the moment, with less positive effects in the long run.
通过分析长达30年的时间使用研究的全国性数据和一个还在继续的系列社会态度调查，马里兰州的研究人员报告说，花时间看电视可能有助于电视观众片刻间的幸福，但从长远来看，积极效果较少。
"TV doesn't really seem to satisfy people over the long haul the way that social involvement or reading a newspaper does," says University of Maryland sociologist John P. Robinson, the study co-author and a pioneer in time use studies. "It's more passive and may provide escape - especially when the news is as depressing as the economy itself. The data suggest to us that the TV habit may offer short-run pleasure at the expense of long-term malaise."
“电视实际上看来并不能以社会参与或阅读报纸能够满足的方式满足人们长时间的需要，”美国马里兰大学社会学家John P. Robinson，他是这项研究的作者之一，而且是时间使用研究的先驱。“电视比较被动，却可供解闷——尤其是在新闻和经济本身一样令人沮丧的时候。这些数据使我们联想到，看电视的习惯可能以长时间的萎靡不振为代价提供短时间的娱乐消遣。”
TV VIEWING DURING A FINANCIAL CRISIS
金融危机期间看电视
Based on data from time use surveys, Robinson projects that TV viewing might increase significantly as the economy worsens in the next few months and years.
根据时间使用调查得到的数据，Robinson预测，在未来几个月甚至几年经济变得更坏的时候，看电视可能会显著增加。
"Through good and bad economic times, our diary studies, have consistently found that work is the major activity correlate of higher TV viewing hours," Robinson says. "As people have progressively more time on their hands, viewing hours increase."
“研究我们从经济景气到经济不景气的日记，结果发现，与观看电视时间高度相关的主要活动一向是工作，”Robinson说。“随着人们自己可以支配的时间日益增多，观看电视的时间也在增加。”
But Robinson cautions that some of that extra time also might be spent sleeping. "As working and viewing hours increase, so do sleep hours," he says. "Sleep could be the second major beneficiary of job loss or reduced working hours."
不过，Robinson提醒，部分额外时间也可能用在睡眠上。“由于工作和看电视的时间增加，所以睡眠的时间也增加，”他说。“睡眠可能是失去工作或者减少工作时间的第二个主要受惠者。”
STUDY FINDINGS AND DATA
研究结果和数据
In their new study, Robinson and his co-author, University of Maryland sociologist Steven Martin, set out to learn more about the activities that contributed to happiness in people's lives. They analyzed two sets of data spanning nearly 30 years (1975-2006) gathered from nearly 30,000 adults:
在他们的新的研究中，Robinson和他的合作者，马里兰大学社会学家Steven Martin着手了解更多有助于人生幸福的活动。他们分析了从差不多30,000个成年人收集来的、时间跨越差不多30年(1975-2006)的两组数据：
l A series of time use studies that asked people to fill out diaries for a 24-hour period and to indicate how pleasurable they found each activity;
l 一系列的时间使用研究，请人填写24小时的日记表格，并说明他们感到每一项活动的愉快程度；
l General Social Survey attitude studies, which Robinson calls the premier national source for monitoring changes in public attitudes - in-depth surveys that over the years consistently asked subjects how happy they feel, how they spend their time, among a number of other questions.
l 一般社会调查的态度研究，Robinson认为这是追踪公众态度变化的最重要的全国性来源——深入调查多年来一贯要求的话题，他们觉得多幸福、他们如何消磨时间，还有其他一些问题。
UNHAPPY PEOPLE VIEW SIGNIFICANTLY MORE
不幸福的人观看电视显著增加
Robinson and Martin found that the two sets of data largely coincided for most activities - with the exception of television.
Robinson和Martin发现，在很大程度上，这两组数据与大部分活动相符——除电视以外。
From the General Social Survey, the researchers found that self-described very happy people were more socially active, attended more religious services, voted more and read more newspapers. By contrast, unhappy people watched significantly more television in their spare time.
研究人员从一般社会调查发现，自称非常幸福的人在社交方面更活跃，参加更多的宗教服务，投更多的票而且阅读更多的报纸。相比之下，不幸福的人业余时间很明显地多看电视。
According to the study's findings, unhappy people watch an estimated 20 percent more television than very happy people, after taking into account their education, income, age and marital status - as well as other demographic predictors of both viewing and happiness.
根据这一研究的结果，不幸福的人估计比非常幸福的人多看20%的电视，这是在把他们的教育、收入、年龄和婚姻状况——以及看电视和幸福两方面的其他人口统计学预测因素考虑在内之后得出的。
UNHAPPY PEOPLE ARE HAPPY WITH TV
不幸福的人对看电视感到满意
Data from time diaries told a somewhat different story. Responding in "real time," much closer to daily events, survey respondents tended to rate television viewing more highly as a daily activity.
来自时间日志的数据讲述有点不同的故事。“实时”回答更接近日常活动，受访者有很高的倾向把收看电视算作日常活动。
"What viewers seem to be saying is that while TV in general is a waste of time and not particularly enjoyable, 'the shows I saw tonight were pretty good,' " Robinson says.
“电视观众似乎要说的是，虽然看电视总的来说是浪费时间，也不是特别愉快，但‘今晚我看到的节目还是相当不错的’，”Robinson说。
The data also suggested to Robinson and Martin that TV viewing is "easy." Viewers don’t have to go anywhere, dress up, find company, plan ahead, expend energy, do any work or spend money in order to view. Combine these advantages with the immediate gratification offered by television, and you can understand why Americans spend more than half their free time as TV viewers, the researchers say.
这些数据还暗示Robinson和Martin，看电视是“不费力的”。电视观众哪里也不用去，他们不必梳妆打扮、不用陪客、不必提前计划、不必花费精力、不必做任何工作或花钱才能看电视。把这些优势与电视提供的当下的满足结合起来，你就可以理解为什么美国人花费一半以上的空闲时间作为电视观众，研究者说。
Unhappy people were also more likely to feel that they have unwanted extra time on their hands (51 percent) compared to very happy people (19 percent) and to feel rushed for time (35 percent vs. 23 percent). Having too much time and no clear way to fill it was the bigger burden of the two.
不幸福的人也更有可能觉得，他们已经不需要自己支配额外的时间（51%），对照一下非常幸福的人（19%），并觉得时间匆忙（35%比23%）。有了太多时间，而没有打发时间的清晰手段，是这两者的更大负担。
AN ADDICT'S FIX
上瘾者的窘境
Martin likens the short, temporary pleasure of television to addiction: "Addictive activities produce momentary pleasure and long-term misery and regret," he says. "People most vulnerable to addiction tend to be socially or personally disadvantaged. For this kind of person, TV can become a kind of opiate in a way. It's habitual, and tuning in can be an easy way of tuning out."
Martin把短期、临时的电视消遣比作吸毒成瘾：“上瘾活动产生瞬间愉悦并导致长期的痛苦和懊悔，”他说。“最容易上瘾的往往是社会地位低下或自身有缺陷的人。电视在某种程度上可以成为这种人的一种鸦片。它习以为常，并且调电视频道可以不闻不问轻松进行。”
【本文翻译仅为外语学习及阅读目的，原文作者个人观点与译者及译言网无关】
