Online media
在线媒体
The end of the social network
社交网络的终结
As Facebook turns 20, social apps are being transformed
在Facebook年满20之际，社交应用正在转型
FACEBOOK MAY be turning 20 on February 4th, but it is just as much of a magnet for controversy and cash today as when it was a brash, break-everything teenager. On January 31st Mark Zuckerberg, the social network’s founder, was harangued by American senators over the spread of harmful material. The next day, as we published this, he was poised to announce another set of glittering results for Meta, Facebook’s parent company, which is now valued at $1trn. Yet even as social media reliably draw vast amounts of attention from addicts and critics alike, they are undergoing a profound but little-noticed transformation.
虽说Facebook在2月4日这天年满20了，但它如今吸引争议和金钱的能力丝毫不亚于自命不凡、肆无忌惮的少年时期。1月31日，Facebook的创始人扎克伯格因该平台传播有害信息的问题被美国参议员围攻。翌日，也就是本文发表之时，他会宣布Facebook母公司Meta的又一轮辉煌业绩，该公司目前的市值已达1万亿美元。然而就在社交媒体一如既往地吸引成瘾者和批评者的目光的同时，它们也在经历一场深刻却鲜有人注意的变革。
- magnet 磁铁、磁石、吸铁石；有吸引力的人（或地方、事物）；磁体、磁性物体
- brash 指人或其行为“自以为是的、盛气凌人的、爱突出自己的”（参见：小词详解 | brash）
- 拓展学习：熟词僻义 | founder 有风险，创业需谨慎
- harangue 呵斥；大声谴责；慷慨激昂地劝说
- poise 保持（某种姿势）；抓紧；使稳定
- glittering 闪闪发光的；华丽的；辉煌的；成功的；盛大的
The weird magic of online social networks was to combine personal interactions with mass communication. Now this amalgam is splitting in two again. Status updates from friends have given way to videos from strangers that resemble a hyperactive TV. Public posting is increasingly migrating to closed groups, rather like email. What Mr Zuckerberg calls the digital “town square” is being rebuilt—and posing problems.
在线社交网络的奇特魔力在于将人际互动与大众传播结合起来。现在这个结合体再次一分为二。陌生人的视频就像一档极度活跃的电视节目，已经取代了朋友们的状态更新。公开发帖越来越多地转移到封闭的群组，就像电子邮件一样。扎克伯格所称的数字“城市广场”正在重建，同时也带来了问题。
- amalgam （用作补牙材料的）汞齐，汞合金；混合物
- hyperactive 过分活跃的，多动的
