《經濟學人》Modern love 婚戀應用里的愛情

09-07

來自專欄老白說英文2 人贊了文章

《經濟學人》180818-Modern love 婚戀應用里的愛情

Online dating has changed the search for a mate, for better more than for worse

在線婚戀網站已經改變了人們尋找另一半的方式，並且這種方式利大於弊

THE internet has transformed the way people work and communicate. It has upended industries, from entertainment to retailing. But its most profound e?ect may well be on the biggest decision that most people make—choosing a mate.

互聯網已經改變了人們工作和生活的方式，也顛覆了各個行業，無論是娛樂產業還是零售業都是如此。但是，影響最深刻的領域，可能是大多數人一生最大的決定-擇偶。

In the early 1990s the notion of meeting a partner online seemed freakish, and not a little pathetic.

Today, in many places, it is normal. Smartphones have put virtual bars in people』s pockets, where singletons can mingle free from the constraints of social or physical geography. Globally, at least 200m people use digital dating services every month. In America more than a third of marriages now start with an online match-up. The internet is the second-most-popular way for Americans to meet people ofthe opposite sex, and is fast catching up with real-world 「friend of a friend」 introductions.

在上個世紀90年代初期，網上擇偶還被看成是怪事，是很可悲的事情。今天，在很多地方看來這都是很正常的。智能手機消除了單身人群的社交和地理障礙。全球來看，每個月至少有2億人通過電子軟體交友。三分之一美國人的婚姻是從在線交友開始的。

Digital dating is a massive social experiment, conducted on one of humanity』s most intimate and vital processes. Its e?ects are only just starting to become visible (see Brie?ng).

在美國，互聯網是異性交友第二受歡迎的方式，並且大有趨勢趕超第一種朋友介紹的交友方式。

生詞

upend 顛覆
notion 概念
freakish /fri?k??/ 異想天開的

When Harry clicked on Sally 當哈利遇上薩利

Meeting a mate over the internet is fundamentally di?erent from meeting one o?http://ine.In the physical world, partners are found in family networks or among circles of friends and colleagues. Meeting a friend of a friend is the norm. People who meet online are overwhelmingly likely to be strangers. As a result, dating digitally o?ers much greater choice. A bar, choir or o?ce might have a few tens of potential partners for any one person. Online there are tens of thousands.

線上約會與線下相比，有本質地不同。在現實世界中，配偶是通過家庭關係或者朋友圈、同事圈認識的。跟朋友的朋友見面，是非常正常的。人們在網上約見的人，絕大多數是陌生人。所以，通過網路約會極大地擴展了交往的圈子。對於任何一個人來說，在酒吧，合唱團或者辦公室可能可能遇到數十個潛在約會對象。而在網路中，這個數字被放大1000倍。

When Harry clicked on Sally 當哈利遇上薩利

一部電影的名字，台詞摘錄和簡介見IMDb傳送門：https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098635/quotes

fundamentally /?f?nd?m?nt?li/ 根本上，重要地

This greater choice—plus the fact that digital connections are made only with mutual consent—makes the digital dating market far more e?cient than the o?ine kind. For some, that is bad news. Because of the gulf in pickiness between the sexes, a few straight men are doomed never to get any matches at all.On Tantan, a Chinese app, men express interest in 60% of women they see, but women are interested in just 6% of men; this dynamic means that 5% of men never receive a match.

In o?ine dating, with a much smaller pool of men to ?sh from, straight women are more likely to couple up with men who would not get a look-in online.

這種海量的選擇，再加上只有網路上認識的-使得線上交友市場比線下高效得多。對於某些人來說，這不算什麼好事。由於兩性擇偶上的分歧，少數直男註定得不到任何配對的機會。在中國交友應用"探探"中，男性對看到的60％女性感興趣，而對於女性，這個數字只有10％。這種慣性使得5％的男人從未配對過。在線下約會中，由於可供選擇的男性數量要少的多，喜歡異性的女性更可能跟線上受冷遇的男性約會。

look-in 成功的機會

For most people, however, digital dating o?ers better outcomes. Research has found that marriages in America between people who meet online are likely to last longer; such couples profess to be happier than those who met o?ine. The whi? of moral panic surrounding dating apps is vastly overblown. Precious little evidence exists to show that opportunities online are encouraging in?delity. In America, divorce rates climbed until just before the advent of the internet, and have fallen since.

然而對大多數人來說，線上約會平台可以提供的更多。研究表明，從網路相識並走入婚姻美國夫妻，婚姻更長久；其幸福程度也比線下結識的夫妻更高。對婚戀應用的道德討伐誇大其詞了。之前很少有證據表明，線上約會會導致婚外情。在美國，離婚率以互聯網出現為節點，先升後降。

whiff /w?f/ 噴出，吸，單人皮划艇
vastly /va:stli/ 極大地 adj.
overblow /?ov??blo/ 吹的過響
infidelity /??nf?d?l?ti/ 不忠，通姦
advert /?dv?t/ 談及，廣告
boon /b?n/ 恩惠，愉快

Online dating is a particular boon for those with very particular requirements.Jdate allows daters to ?lter out matches who would not consider converting to Judaism, for instance. A vastly bigger market has had dramatic results for same-sex daters in particular. In America, 70% of gay people meet their partners online.This searchable spectrum of sexual diversity is a boon: more people can ?nd the intimacy they seek.

對於那些對擇偶有明確需求的人來說，線上約會簡直就是約會神器。比如說Jdate支持用戶篩選掉無意皈依猶太教的約會對象。尤其對於同性約會來說，在線約會是一個龐大的市場。美國有70％的同性戀是網上結識的。這種支持性別篩選的服務無疑是個福利。

Jdate 一家為猶太人提供交友服務的網站，成立已經超過10年。
spectrum /spektr?m/ 光譜，範圍

There are problems with the modern way of love, however. Many users complain of stress when confronted with the brutal realities of the digital meat market, and their place within it.

但是，這種新生的配對方式也存在弊端。很多用戶抱怨自己在看臉的市場遇到的冷遇以及自身處境。

Negative emotions about body image existed before the internet, but they are ampli?ed when strangers can issue snap judgments on attractiveness. Digital dating has been linked to depression.

The same problems that a?ict other digital platforms recur in this realm, from scams to fake accounts: 10% of all newly created dating pro?les do not belong to real people.

互聯網出現之前，對於低顏值人的嫌棄就一直存在，只不過陌生人對外貌的評論放大了這個問題。線上約會總是擺脫不了負面評價。其它在線網站反覆遇到的欺詐和虛假賬戶等問題，Jdate也都遇到了：新註冊賬戶中，有10％都是虛假信息。

This new world of romance may also have unintended consequences for society.The fact that online daters have so much more choice can break down barriers: evidence suggests that the internet is boosting interracial marriages by bypassing homogenous social groups.But daters are also more able to choose partners like themselves. Assortative mating, the process whereby people with similar education levels and incomes pair up, already shoulders some of the blame for income inequality.Online dating may make the e?ect more pronounced: education levels are displayed prominently on dating pro?les in a way they would never be o?ine. It is not hard to imagine dating services of the future matching people by preferred traits, as determined by uploaded genomes. Dating ?rms also su?er from an inherent con?ict of interest. Perfect matching would leave them bereft of paying customers.

真實社會中存在的問題，在這個浪漫世界中也同樣存在。事實是，在線約會提供的海量選擇能夠消除障礙：資料展顯示，在線約會通過迴避同性社會成員提高了結婚率。但是用戶選擇對自己有好感的對象的機會也越來越多。教育和收入水平相當的兩個人「門當戶對」的約會，已經為「收入差距」而受到責難。線上約會可能更明顯：與線下不同，在線上的約會中，教育水平至關重要。通過網站上傳的用戶屬性，不難想像未來與自己約會的用戶特徵。婚戀交友公司也面臨著盈利渠道的問題。完美配對將使公司失去有支付能力的用戶。

assortative /?s?:t?tiv/ 匹配的
inherent /?nh?r?nt/ 固有的，內在的
bereft of /b?r?ft/ 喪失，失去

The domination of online dating by a handful of ?rms and their algorithms is another source of worry. Dating apps do not bene?t from exactly the same sort of network e?ects as other tech platforms: a person』s friends do not need to be on a specific dating site, for example. But the feedback loop between large pools of data, generated by ever-growing numbers of users attracted to an ever-improving product, still exists. The entry into the market of Facebook, armed with data from its 2.2bn users, will provide clues as to whether online dating will inexorably consolidate into fewer, larger platforms.

少數幾家公司獨佔在線約會市場以及其精準演算法，讓對手寢食難安。婚戀應用無法像其他科技平台一樣，從同一個網路效應中受益：比如一位用戶的好友並不需要登錄特定的婚戀網站。但是從大量數據池中得知，由於婚戀類應用在不斷更新更能不斷完善，其所吸引的用戶數量也前所未有。侵蝕坐擁22億用戶數據Facebook的蛋糕，將成為婚戀類應用能否在數量更少、規模更大的平台中站穩腳跟的證明。

inherent /?nh?r?nt/ 固有的，內在的
bereft/b?r?ft/ 喪失
They are bereft of their dignity.
他們被奪去了尊嚴
domination /?dɑm?ne??n/ 控制，統治
loop /lup/ 圈，循環
inexorably /ineks?r?bli/ 無情地
consolidate /k?nsɑl?det/ 鞏固

While you were swiping 當你刷手機時，你在刷些什麼

But even if the market does not become ever more concentrated, the process of coupling (or not) has unquestionably become more centralised. Romance used to be a distributed activity which took place in a profusion of bars, clubs, churches and o?ces; now enormous numbers of people rely on a few companies to meet their mate. That hands a small number of coders, tweaking the algorithms that determine who sees whom across the virtual bar, tremendous power to engineer mating outcomes. In authoritarian societies especially, the prospect of algorithmically arranged marriages ought to cause some disquiet. Competition o?ers some protection against such a possibility; so too might greater transparency over the principles used by dating apps to match people up.

即使婚戀市場沒有像今天這樣集中化，無論配對成功與否，這個過程都已經更加集中了，這是毫無疑問的。在之前，愛戀可以發生在酒吧、夜總會、教堂和辦公室等一系列場景；現在大量用戶集中在少數幾家公司，等待遇到對的人。這使得少數程序員，極力改進匹配在線下酒吧約會雙方的演算法，調動資源優化匹配結果。尤其在崇尚人員的社會中，依靠演算法匹配婚戀對象的前景，有點讓人擔憂。競爭對這種可能性提供了一些保護；使用婚戀應用交友約束透明度的提高，也對其有所幫助。

Yet such concerns should not obscure the good that comes from the modern way of romance. The right partners can elevate and nourish each other. The wrong ones can ruin both their lives. Digital dating o?ers millions of people a more e?cient way to ?nd a good mate. That is something to love.

但是，現代的戀愛方式的優點不應該因為這些擔憂而黯然失色。好的伴侶能夠互相督促，彼此成全。渣男渣女則可能影響各自後半生的生活。在線交友為數百萬人提供了更高效的方法。愛，在此發生。

swipe /swa?p/ 重擊，批評
profusion /pr?fju?n/ 許多，大量
distributed /d?str?bj?t?d/ 分散式
coder /k??d?/ 編碼器
tweak /twik/ 擰，焦急
disquiet /d?skwa??t/ 擔心，焦慮
authoritarian/?,θ?r?t?r??n/ 專治的，權利主義的
prospect /prɑsp?kt/ 景象，景色 n. 勘探 vi.
obscure /?bskj?r/ 模糊的，vt.遮掩
elevate /??l??vet/ 舉起，提升
nourish /n???/ 滋養，保持

【總結】

這篇中規中矩，沒有太多的事實、數據，觀點只是說「在線vs線下的話，在線必勝」。這種順應時代潮流的話，與其說是預測，還不如是拾人牙慧。蘋果早已干翻諾基亞的時代，誰還會要紅娘牽線？這不過這周世界局勢相對平靜，沒有重大爆料而已。相信下次的leaders，作者會恢復以前選題和寫作水準，給大家再次奉上一次」英文盛宴「。