科技类的话题在托福写作和口语中屡见不鲜，比如网上评价（online reviews），人工智能AI，以及社交媒体等等。当讨论社交媒体时，我们往往能够想到各个即时通讯软件/交友软件/社区网站带来的便利、广阔的视野和丰富的学习机会；但此类软件的弊端也常常出现，今天我们和大家一起读外刊，深挖科技如何印象我们的社交技能，同时帮助大家补充思路和表达：
The so-called “Friendship Recession” is making its way into the vernacular（习语）—a profound shift in how Americans experience and sustain friendships.
The rise of the internet and mobile phones accelerated this shift. Nearly 40% of Americans now have online-only friendships. Among teenagers, the trend is even more pronounced. Teenagers are spending only 40 minutes a day in person with friends outside of school hours, down from 140 minutes a day nearly two decades ago. The average teen spent almost nine hours on daily screen time in 2021, up from seven hours in 2015.
随着互联网的普及，约40%的美国人仅有线上朋友，青少年日均屏幕时间更是高达9小时。这引发了一个值得深思的问题：丰富多彩的线上社交是否能完全替代线下互动？
This cultural shift would not matter if digital friendships were interchangeable with in-person friendships. But online friendships require a different set of social behaviors than in-person ones. Maintaining a friendship online relies on skills like crafting the perfect message, interpreting text-based interactions, and engaging in asynchronous exchanges with multiple people at once. In contrast, in-person friendships thrive on undivided attention, and are built through spontaneous moments, reading body language, and navigating the vulnerability of face-to-face connection.
仔细观察我们的线上社交行为，往往会发现三个典型特征：反复编辑信息追求完美措辞、同时进行多线对话、过度依赖表情包沟通。这些行为与线下互动形成鲜明对比——现实中我们可以即时响应，捕捉对方生动的肢体语言和微表情。
This cultural shift is particularly insidious（潜伏的） because it’s not just changing our habits—it’s rewiring our brains. Forming friendships requires vulnerability. To avoid that discomfort, we increasingly turn to psychological shortcuts. Digital interactions offer a sense of control: behind our screens, we can curateourselves—presentation, sidestep awkward social cues, and get quick dopamine hits that create the illusion of connection. But these shortcuts and avoidances only deepen our isolation, creating a self-reinforcing cycle: the more we retreat from in-person connection, the harder it becomes, making digital interactions and solitude even more appealing.
友谊的本质往往建立在那些充满不确定性的初始时刻，无论是尴尬的初次见面还是逐渐卸下伪装的过程。然而，线上社交让我们陷入一个矛盾困境：精心打造完美人设的同时，孤独感却在不断加深。这种孤独又促使我们寻求更便捷的社交方式，形成恶性循环。
What we need to do—
The key lies in strengthening the two pillars of friendship: forming and sustaining connections. 要打破这个循环，关键在于把握友谊的两大支柱：建立联系和维系关系。
接下来我们看看如何开始一段友谊：
Forming friendships requires taking risks, and discomfort is a natural part of risk-taking. But rather than being a deterrent, novel experiences and shared challenges can be the glue that binds friendships together.
Consider solving an Escape Room, hosting a Hot Ones Challenge, organizing a team trivia night, or even creating a play where everyone contributes to the final production (research suggests that art is particularly helpful for healing a lonely brain).
建立深层友谊可以巧妙运用"吊桥效应"，通过共同挑战创造难忘回忆。推荐尝试以下活动：
密室逃脱（锻炼团队协作）
Hot Ones挑战（YouTube知名辣翅挑战节目）
知识竞答夜（考验知识储备的趣味活动）
💡随机掉落冷/热知识：
Hot Ones——是YouTube上的一档综艺节目，邀请明星对谈并挑战爆辣鸡翅，成功吃掉10个鸡翅的人获得奖品！
Trivia Night 是源于澳洲的一种知识趣味竞答活动，题目内容涵盖文化、艺术、娱乐、历史等各方面知识，内容广泛，特别考验人的知识储备量。
Forming friendships is only half the battle. Friendships thrive on ritual and repetition.
As such, sustaining them requires intentional effort, particularly in a culture that prioritizes work and family over social ties. This means making active choices to spend time with friends—even when it feels inconvenient. For example, if your group runs together weekly, add a themed run (like costumes or challenges) every so often. Or, if you have regular dinners, try hosting potlucks聚餐with rotating themes like “comfort food” or “childhood favorites.”
维系友谊则需要创造持续的互动机会，比如：
定期举办主题聚会（服装主题/童年美食分享）
设计新颖的挑战项目
建立固定的活动传统（如每月一次探险日）
我们还为大家整理了文章中可能出现的词汇和句式，生成一段语料方便大家记忆（deepseek）：
作为一个资深netizen，我曾以为digital friendship就是社交的终极形态——能craft perfect messages精心雕琢每句话，用interchangeable表情包代替尴尬的in-person交流。直到发现自己在retreat进solitude时，竟对着聊天记录interpret text-based interactions分析三小时...这insidious孤独感让我醒悟：shortcut社交只会让人rewire成多巴胺乞丐！
某天我决定参加escape room挑战。当队友们thrive on shared challenges时，那些spontaneous尖叫和high five瞬间成了glue that binds friendships together。现在我们每周host potlucks，rotating themes从"童年零食怀旧"到"暗黑料理比拼"。原来真正的社交不该是sidestep现实，而是学会read body language里藏着的"再来一盘！"
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TD整理了2016-2025年超过534场托福口语/写作真题
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