1   On a quiet Saturday afternoon, Paul and his wife Maria are sittingat home reading their favorite books. Opposite to where they sit are their two sons: 15-year-old Jason and 12-year-old Jack,  absorbed in playing chess. What's the scenario here? The family calls it their “offline day”. From Friday night through Sunday evening, there are no video games, no computers, and no cell phones.

在一个安静的星期六下午，保罗和他的妻子玛丽亚坐在家里读他们最喜欢的书。坐在他们对面的是他们的两个儿子: 15岁的杰森和12岁的杰克，他们正在全神贯注地下棋。现在可能的情况是什么？这个家庭称之为他们的“离线日”。从周五晚上到周日晚上，没有电子游戏，没有电脑，没有手机。

2 In our “always on” lives, such a scenario of family convention seems gone. Are we too immersed in the brilliance of the digital world? Perhaps. We cannot seem to resist the lure of our cell phones, even when we are in the company of others. Apparently, we have sacrificed conversation for connection.

在我们“永远在线”的生活中，这样的家庭传统似乎已经消失了。我们是否也沉浸在数字世界的辉煌之中？也许吧。我们似乎无法抗拒手机的诱惑，即使当我们和别人在一起的时候。显然，我们为了联系牺牲了对话。

3    At home, families sit together, texting, and reading emails. At work, executives text during board meetings. We also text when we're on dates. Walking through a college library or the campus of a high-tech company, one sees an identical scenario: People are together, but each of them is in their own bubble, furiously connected to keyboards and tiny touch screens. The little devices most of us carry around are so powerful that they change not only what we do but also who we are.

在家里，家人坐在一起，发短信，阅读电子邮件。工作时，高管们在董事会会议上发短信。我们约会的时候也会发短信。走在大学图书馆或者高科技公司的校园里，你会看到一个相同的场景: 人们在一起，但每个人都在自己的泡泡里，与键盘和微型触摸屏紧密相连。我们大多数人随身携带的小装置是如此强大以至于它们不仅改变了我们的行为还改变了我们的本性。

4    It's true we've already become accustomed to a new way of being “alone together” Technology-enabled, we are able to be with one another, and also elsewhere, connected to wherever we want to be. We've been used to the idea of being in a tribe of one, loyal to our own party. In the silence of connection, we are comforted by being in touch with “invisible” friends and significant others, not too close, nor too far, just right.

的确，我们已经习惯了一种新的“单独在一起”的方式技术支持，我们能够彼此相处，也能够在其他地方，连接到我们想去的任何地方。我们已经习惯了一个人的部落，忠于我们自己的党派。在沉默的联系中，我们通过与“看不见的”朋友和重要的其他人保持联系而得到安慰，不是太亲密，也不是太远，恰到好处。

5  A senior partner at a law firm describes vividly a scene in his office. Every morning, young associates would first lay out their suite of technologies: laptops, tablets, and multiple phones. Then they would put their earphones on.“Big ones. Like pilots. They have converted their desks into cockpits," he said. With the young lawyers sitting in their cockpits, the office becomes quiet, a quiet that does not ask to be broken. They have completely plunged into their virtual world.

一家律师事务所的高级合伙人生动地描述了他办公室里的情景。每天早上，年轻的同事们首先展示他们的一套技术: 笔记本电脑、平板电脑和多机。然后他们会戴上耳机。“大的。像飞行员一样。他们把办公桌改装成了驾驶舱。”。年轻的律师们坐在驾驶舱里，办公室变得安静，这种安静并不想被打破。他们完全跌落在自己的虚拟世界里。

6   As we can see, there is no limit to time and space in this digital world. Connection can be anytime and anywhere. Gradually, we've picked up a habit of deletion - wiping out rich human relationships. The move from conversation to connection, for example, is part of this. In fact, online connection is often a deceptive illusion in which we cheat ourselves, assuming we're not alone. Worse, over time we'll stop caring and forget there is a difference between online connection and face-to-face conversation.

正如我们所看到的，在这个数字化的世界里，时间和空间是没有限制的。连接可以在任何时间任何地点。渐渐地，我们养成了删除的习惯——清除人际关系。例如，从谈话到联系的转变就是这种转变的一部分。事实上，在线联系往往是一种欺骗性的错觉，在这种错觉中，我们欺骗了自己，假设我们并不孤单。更糟糕的是，随着时间的推移，我们会停止关心和遗忘在线联系和面对面交谈之间的区别。

7      We are tempted to think that our little “sips” of online connection add up to a big swallow of real conversation. No, they don't. Even though all of these sips have their places - in politics, commerce, romance, and friendship, I would claim, no matter how valuable they are, it's impossible for them to substitute for real conversation, where people exchange ideas and share viewpoints dynamically.

我们很容易认为，我们在网上交流的“一小口”加起来就是真实对话的一大口。不，他们没有。尽管所有这些小品都有自己的位置——在政治、商业、爱情和友谊中，我要说，无论它们多么有价值，它们都不可能替代真正的对话，人们在那里交流思想，动态地分享观点。

8  Yes, connecting in sips may work for gathering discrete bits of information, or for saying “I am thinking about you", or even for saying “I love you”, but it's far from the adequacy of communication when it comes to understanding and knowing one another. Real conversation, on the other hand, is a more infonmative process, in which we're more caring and observant. We hesitate and pause and go silent, and we reveal ourselves to one another through tones and nuances.

是的，小口地连接可能有助于收集零散的信息，或者避免说“我在想你”，甚至是说“我爱你”，但是当涉及到相互理解和认识时，这远远不足够。另一方面，真正的对话是一个更具信息性的过程，在这个过程中，我们更加关心他人，更加善于观察。我们犹豫，停顿，沉默，我们通过音调和细微差别向彼此展示自己。

9 While communicating on our digital devices, we unconsciously raise our expectations as well. As we increase the volume and velocity of online connection, we start to expect acceleration - faster answers. We ask one another simpler questions; we dumb down our communication, even on the most important matters. Face-to-face conversation, by contrast, unfolds slowly, so it teaches us patience.

在使用数字设备进行交流时，我们也会不自觉地提高自己的期望值。当我们增加在线连接的容量和速度时，我们开始期待加速——更快的答案。我们互相问一些简单的问题; 压低我们的交流，即使是在最重要的事情上。相比之下，面对面的谈话进展缓慢，因此它教会了我们耐心。

10    In addition, our move from conversation means diminished opportunities to learn skills of self-reflection. These days, social media continually asks us what's “on our mind”, but we have little motivation to say something truly self-reflective. Imagine how hard it is to do something with thousands of online friends! It is through the conversation with trusted others that we learn to converse with ourselves - to be honest with ourselves.

此外，我们从谈话中转移意味着学习自我反省技能的机会减少。如今，社交媒体不断地问我们“在想什么”，但我们几乎没有动力去说一些真正自我反思的话。想象一下和成千上万的网友一起做一件事是多么困难！正是通过与值得信赖的人交谈，我们学会了与自己交谈——对自己诚实。

11    I'm not a critic, but I am a partisan for conversation. To make room for it, I see some first steps. At home, we can create “sacred” spaces for conversation while doing domestic chores: the kitchen, the dining room. We can make our cars a place free of little devices. We can be a consultant to our children through the demonstration of the value of conversation. At work, we can do the same thing. Employees asked for casual Fridays; managers may “collaborate” and introduce conversational Thursdays.

我不是一个批评家，但我是一个对话的坚定支持者。为了给它腾出空间，我看到了一些第一步。在家里，我们可以在做家务的同时创造“神圣”的交谈空间: 厨房，餐厅。我们可以让我们的汽车成为一个没有小设备的地方。我们可以通过展示对话的价值来成为孩子们的顾问。在工作上，我们可以做同样的事情。员工要求在周五休息; 经理可以“合作”，并在周四介绍对话。

12     Although an “offline day” may be unbearable for tech enthusiasts who need to alter their habits, experts say it is beneficial to assess both the merit and burden of digital technology. Let's take some time away from the beeps and rings to evaluate our relationship with technology. Try to make some changes. At the beginning, it might be hard, but after a few months when a habit forms, we'll begin to realize we have already gained a lot from it. So, look up, look at one another, and let's start a conversation.

尽管对于那些需要改变习惯的科技爱好者来说，“离线一天”可能是无法忍受的，但专家们表示，评估数字技术的优点和负担都是有益的。让我们把时间从哔哔声和铃声中抽出来，来评估一下我们与科技的关系。试着做些改变。一开始，这可能很难，但是几个月后，当一个习惯形成后，我们会开始意识到我们已经从中获得了很多。所以，抬起头来，互相看看，然后我们开始对话。