No matter where in the world our friends are, or how long it's been since we've seen them, as long as they stay on social media, we never have to lose touch.

不管我們的朋友在世界哪個角落、不管我們有多久沒見到他們，只要他們還在社交媒體上，我們就永遠不會失去聯繫。

But is social media strengthening friendships or making them shallower?

但社交媒體到底是在加強友誼還是削弱友誼的深度？

According to anthropologist Robin Dunbar, the highest number of people you can maintain a meaningful relationship with at one time ranges from 100 to 200, depending on how social you are.

根據人類學家羅賓·鄧巴的說法，根據你的社交程度，你一次能與之保持有意義關係的最高人數在 100 到 200 人之間。

And many of us have a lot more social media connections than that.

而很多人的社交媒體關係比這多更多。

Friendship researcher William Rawlins divides friendships into three categories: active, dormant, and commemorative.

友誼研究者威廉·羅林斯將友誼分為三類：活躍型、休眠型和紀念型。

A friendship is active if you're regularly in touch with this person, if you feel you can call on them for emotional support, and if you pretty much know what's going on with their lives.

如果你經常和這個人保持聯繫、覺得自己可以向他們尋求情感上的支持，或是幾乎知道他們所有的生活近況，那麼這段友誼就是活躍的。

A dormant friend is someone you have history with, but whom you haven't spoken to in a while.

休眠的朋友指的則是與你有過一段歷史，但已經有段時間沒有說話的人。

But if you were in the same town as them, you'd definitely hit them up, and it wouldn't be weird.

但如果你和他們在同一個城市，你肯定會和他們聯絡，而且相處起來不會奇怪。

And then, a commemorative friend is someone who was important to you at an earlier time in your life, but you don't really expect to see or hear from them, maybe ever again.

然後，紀念性的朋友是在你生命較早期時對你很重要的人，但你並不指望能見到或聽到他們的消息，也許你們永遠不會再見面。

You remember them fondly, but they remain firmly in the past.

你仍深深記得他們，但他們卻牢牢地留在了過去。

Or they would have before social media.

不過這是在社交媒體出現之前的狀況。

Facebook is like a trophy case for these commemorative friendships.

Facebook 就像這些紀念友誼的獎盃展示箱。

You can see what your childhood camp friend thinks about politics, you can get a "Happy Birthday" message from your old Little League teammate.

你可以看到童年營友對政治的看法，也可以收到小時候的隊友傳給你的「生日快樂」訊息。

As you grow older, more and more of your active friendships will become dormant or commemorative.

隨著人年齡增長，越來越多活躍友誼會變成休眠友誼或紀念友誼。

That's because friendships naturally fade as people grow up.

那是因為隨著人成長，友情自然而然就會變淡。

According to the American Time Use Survey, young people aged 15 to 19 spend the most time socializing per day while older adults have less time to spend with their friends.

根據美國時間使用調查，15 至 19 歲的年輕人每天花在社交上的時間最多，而老年人花在朋友身上的時間較少。

One study found that the more people moved, the more willing they were to get rid of objects, but the more willing they were to get rid of their objects, they also reported being more willing to cut social ties too.

有研究發現，越常搬家的人，越容易擺脫身邊事物，而越容易擺脫物品的人，也更樂意切斷社交關係。

Which suggests that people who move a lot may see their friendships as more disposable.

這可能表示，經常搬家的人容易將友誼視為用完即棄的東西。

But a friendship isn't the same as that crumpled soccer team sweatshirt that you finally threw out after your third move.

但友情不是那件你在第三次搬家後終於扔掉的皺巴巴足球隊運動衫。

Technology offers us a way to extend the lifespan of these friendships, even long-distance ones, with minimal effort.

科技提供了一種方法，讓我們能費最小的力延長這些友誼的壽命，甚至維持遠距離友誼。

But some of those friendships aren't really living.

但有些友誼並不真的活躍。

It's more like they're on life support.

這些友誼比較像是靠著生命維持器在硬撐著。

According to friendship researcher Emily Langan, any contact at all is the bare minimum of what it takes to keep a friendship alive.

根據友誼研究員艾米麗·蘭根，任何形式的聯繫都是保持友誼最低限度的行為。

So, if you write on someone's Facebook wall, or comment on their Instagram, you're doing a form of friendship maintenance.

所以，如果你在別人的 Facebook 塗鴉牆上留言，或者在他們的 Instagram 上留言，你就是在維護這段友誼。

Social media allows you to maintain more friendships, but more shallowly.

社交媒體可以讓你保持著更多友誼，但這樣的友誼也比較表面。

But if you just focus on your closest friends, it's also a tool that can help you deepen your relationships.

但如果你只專注在最親密的朋友身上，它也可以是個幫助加深雙方關係的工具。

The more platforms friends use to communicate, in addition to seeing each other in person, the stronger their relationship.

除了實際見面外，朋友之間用越多種媒體平台聯繫，雙方關係就會越牢固。

Researchers call this media multiplexity theory.

研究員將此稱為媒體多義性理論。

So, social media can both strengthen the friendships you care about, and keep some relationships alive past their natural expiration date.

所以，社交媒體既可以增強你在乎的友誼，也可以讓一些關係在超過年限後仍保持活力。

Friendships are a uniquely flexible kind of relationship because unlike with our family members or romantic partners, there are no clear expectations or obligations.

友誼是一種獨特的靈活關係，因為不像家庭成員或戀愛伴侶關係，友誼沒有包含明確的期望或義務。

This makes it easy to drop them when things get busy, but it also means that a period of dormancy doesn't mean that the friendship is over.

也因為如此，人們忙碌時就容易忽略友誼，但這也代表友誼的休眠期並等於關係結束。

In a series of interviews Rawlins did with middle-aged Americans, he found that many still considered themselves to be friends with people they hadn't been in touch with in a long time.

在羅林斯對美國中年人做的一系列訪問中，他發現很多人仍將自己很久沒聯繫的人視作朋友。

But they felt like they could pick right back up where they left off.

他們覺得自己可以隨時重拾這些友誼。

So, maybe that's the biggest gift the Internet gives us.

也許這就是網路給我們最大的禮物。

A place to find our friends when we're ready to pick up where we left off.

一個當我們準備好時，隨時能找回朋友的地方。

The effort has to come from you, and liking a status won't be enough, but when you're ready, your friends are there, in your pocket, waiting for you to reconnect.

但還是得靠自己努力，光是按讚臉書動態是不夠的，當你準備好時，你的朋友就在那裡，近在咫尺，等著你重新聯繫。

This is "You Are Here," a new series about the science behind everyday life.

這裡是「你在這裡」節目，一個關於日常生活背後的科學的新系列。

Let us know what topics you'd like us to explore in the comments.

在評論中留言你希望我們探討的話題。

I'm Julie Beck, thanks for watching.

我是 Julie Beck，謝謝收看。