又中又英 | In a world of your own | 褚簡寧

　　Friends often send me links of articles or videos on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and other social media platforms. I often remind them I do not use social media. I only have WhatsApp, Signal, and Gmail to keep in touch with family, friends, and colleagues. I watch YouTube shows about current affairs to stay informed. But I mostly read newspapers, including the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, and The Standard to keep up with world and Hong Kong news. I know people who are so addicted to social media that they cannot tear themselves away even during social gatherings. They are in a world of their own.

　　If you cannot tear yourself away from something, it means you have great difficulty stopping an activity you enjoy. If you are in a world of your own, it means you focus so much on what you are doing that you pay no attention to what's happening around you. Whether governments should ban young people from using social media is a burning question in some countries. A burning question is an urgent or important subject or question that requires quick attention. Australia last week became the first country to ban young people under 16 years from using social media to protect their mental health and from harmful content.

　　Some other countries are thinking of doing the same or something similar, including New Zealand, Denmark, China, and the US. It will be much harder for the US because the First Amendment of the Constitution protects free speech. Experts are divided over the effects of banning social media. Some say this could cause loneliness. Others say people can live happy lives without social media.

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　　朋友不時傳來TikTok、Facebook、Instagram或其他社交媒體平台的文章或影片的連結，我常提醒他們我並不使用社交媒體。我只用WhatsApp、Signal和Gmail，去跟家人、朋友和同事保持聯絡。我會看YouTube一些關於時事的節目，以取得最新資訊。但我最主要是閱讀報章，包括《紐約時報》、《華爾街日報》、《衛報》和《英文虎報》，以跟上世界與香港新聞。我知道，那些非常沉迷玩社交媒體的人，連在社交聚會也難以抽離（tear themselves away）。他們陶醉在自己的世界裏（in a world of their own）。

　　若你不能tear yourself away from something，意即你很難停止去做一樣自己享受的活動，從當中抽身。若你是in a world of your own，意即你沉浸在自己的世界中，像跟外界隔絕一樣，並不留意身邊發生的事。政府是否應該禁止年輕人使用社交媒體，在許多國家中是個 burning question－－a burning question是當務之急，或急切需要注意的重要議題或問題。澳洲上周成為首個禁止16歲以下年輕人使用社交媒體的國家，去保護他們的心理健康，和助他們遠離有害的內容。

　　另一些國家包括新西蘭、丹麥、中國和美國，都正在考慮做同樣或類近的事。對於美國做這事的難度高許多，因為美國憲法第一修正案保障言論自由。而在禁止使用社交媒體的效果上，專家們也有分歧。有些說這會導致孤單感。另一些則說，沒有了社交媒體，人們可以過快樂的生活。

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Michael Chugani褚簡寧
中譯：七刻