文本導讀
What's the right age to get a smartphone?
幾歲用智慧型手機更合適？
It is a very modern dilemma. Should you hand your child a smartphone, or keep them away from the devices as long as possible?
這是一個非常具有現代特色的困境。你應該給孩子一部智慧型手機，還是儘可能讓他們遠離這些設備？
As a parent, you'd be forgiven for thinking of a smartphone as a sort of Pandora's box with the ability to unleash all the world's evils on your child's wholesome life. The bewildering array of headlines relating to the possible impact of children's phone and social media use are enough to make anyone want to opt out.
作為父母，如果你將智慧型手機視為潘多拉魔盒，認為它會釋放世界上所有的邪惡，影響孩子的健康生活，也情有可原。令人眼花繚亂的頭條新聞紛紛報導兒童手機以及社交媒體使用帶來的負面影響，任何人看了都不想給他們用智慧型手機。
On the other hand, you probably have a phone yourself that you consider an essential tool for daily life. And if your child's classmates and friends are all getting phones, won't they miss out without one?
但另一方面，你自己可能有一部手機，也是日常生活中必不可少的工具。如果你孩子的同學和朋友都有手機，他沒有手機不是一種缺憾嗎？
重點詞彙
1. dilemma : a situation in which a difficult choice has to be made between two different things you could do 左右為難，兩難境地
- The president is clearly in a dilemma about/over how to tackle the crisis.
2. Pandora's box: something that creates a lot of new problems that you did not expect 潘多拉魔盒（指邪惡之源）
- Sadly, his reforms opened up a Pandora's box of domestic problems.
3. wholesome: good for you, and likely to improve your life either physically, morally, or emotionally 有益健康的
- wholesome food
4. bewildering: making you feel confused because you cannot decide what you want 眼花繚亂的，令人困惑的
- The college offers a bewildering range of courses.
5. opt out: to choose not to be part of an activity or to stop being involved in it 選擇不參與；選擇退出
- Employees can choose to opt out of the pension scheme.
6. miss out: to fail to use an opportunity to enjoy or get an advantage from something 錯失享樂（或獲利）的機會
- Don't miss out on the fantastic bargains in our summer sale.
延伸閱讀
Analysing data from over 17,000 participants aged between 10 and 21, the researchers found that higher use of social media at ages 11 to 13 for girls, and 14 to 15 for boys, predicted lower life satisfaction a year later. The reverse was also true: lower social media use at this age predicted higher life satisfaction the following year.
研究人員分析了超過 17000 名年齡在10 至 21 歲之間的參與者的數據，發現11 至 13 歲的女孩和14 至 15 歲的男孩如果高頻使用社交媒體，一年後的生活滿意度會降低。反之亦然：這個年齡段社交媒體使用量減少意味著下一年的生活滿意度會更高。
This aligns with the fact that girls tend to go through puberty earlier than boys, the researchers say, though there's not enough evidence to say this is the cause of the difference in timing. Another window appeared at age 19 for both male and female participants, around the time that many teenagers leave home.
研究人員表示，這與女孩往往比男孩更早經歷青春期這一事實相吻合，儘管沒有足夠的證據表明這是導致年齡差異的原因。男性和女性參與者在 19 歲時出現了另一個窗口，大約就是許多青少年獨立的時候。
Parents should take these age ranges with a pinch of salt when making decisions for their own families — but it's worth being aware that developmental changes could make children more sensitive to the negative side of social media.
父母在為自己的家庭做決定時應該對這些年齡範圍持保留態度——但值得注意的是，發育帶來的生理變化可能會使孩子對社交媒體的負面影響更加敏感。
During the teenage years, for example, the brain changes massively, and this can influence how young people act and feel — including making them more sensitive to social relationships, and status.
例如，在青少年時期，大腦會發生巨大變化，這會影響年輕人的行為和感受——包括使他們對社會關係和地位更加敏感。