Contrary to common belief that social media websites such as Facebook weaken personal ties, they strengthen them in unique ways for different age groups, according to a new study.
一項新研究表明，F(xiàn)acebook等社交網(wǎng)站并不會削弱人與人之間的關(guān)系，反而會以其獨特的方式加強不同年齡群體的聯(lián)系，而這與人們的普遍看法相反。

The rapid spread of Facebook, which has more than 500 million users worldwide, has prompted concerns about its negative effects, but researchers at the University of Texas have reached a different conclusion.
Facebook發(fā)展十分迅速，目前全球用戶量已超過5億，這也使得人們開始擔(dān)憂其負面影響，但德克薩斯大學(xué)的研究人員得出了不同的結(jié)論。

"Our findings suggest that Facebook is not supplanting face-to-face interactions between friends, family and colleagues," said S. Craig Watkins, an associate professor of radio, TV and film who headed the research team.
研究小組負責(zé)人S?克雷格?沃特金斯是廣播、電視和電影學(xué)的副教授，他說：“我們的研究表明，F(xiàn)acebook并沒有取代朋友、家人和同事間面對面的交流?！?/div>

"In fact, we believe there is sufficient evidence that social media afford opportunities for new expressions of friendship, intimacy and community."
“事實上，我們認為，有足夠的證據(jù)表明，社交媒體為友情、親密感情、和共享提供了新的表達方式?！?/div>

The researchers questioned 900 college students and recent graduates about how and with whom they interact on Facebook.
共有900名大學(xué)生和新近的畢業(yè)生參與了該調(diào)查，他們被問及在Facebook網(wǎng)站上的互動方式及對象。

More than 60 percent of Facebook users said posting status updates was among the most popular activities, followed by 60 percent who wrote comments on their profile and 49 percent who posted messages and comments to friends.
超過60%的Facebook用戶稱，他們最喜歡更新個人狀態(tài)，另有60%的用戶喜歡在個人資料中添加評論，還有49%的用戶會給好友發(fā)送信息及評論。

The researchers also found that although about the same number of men and women use Facebook, they do so in different ways.
研究人員還發(fā)現(xiàn)，盡管使用Facebook的男女用戶人數(shù)大致相等，但其使用方式卻有所差異。

"There is a noteworthy difference in orientation in how to use a tool like Facebook. We found that for women the content tends to be more affectionate, and (they) are especially interested in using it for connection," said Watkins.
沃特金斯說：“男女在使用Facebook這樣的社交工具時，定位有顯著差異。我們發(fā)現(xiàn)女性的頁面內(nèi)容一般會更感性，她們特別喜歡通過頁面內(nèi)容和別人建立聯(lián)系?！?/div>

"For men, it's more functional," he added.
他補充道：“而男性則更注重其功能?！?/div>

Watkins pointed out that, for example, women are more likely to post pictures of social gatherings with friends, while men are more likely to post pictures of hobbies, or post a political or pop-culture related link.
沃特金斯舉例指出，女性更喜歡上傳好友社交聚會的照片，而男性則更喜歡上傳業(yè)余愛好的照片，或者是政治或流行文化的相關(guān)鏈接。