How we talk today
2018，短视频和直播火爆的一年
In the past decade, the use of social media has grown in a way that no one could have guessed. It has turned some teenagers into celebrities and turned the famous into the infamous, overnight.
在过去的十年间，社交媒体以我们都意想不到的方式发展壮大。一些青少年因此成了大明星，一些名人也一夜之间声名狼藉。
A key feature of social media, however, is its volatility. Trends come and go, disappearing almost as quickly as they appeared. So, what were the key social media trends of 2018?
社交媒体的一大特点是易变。新潮流层出不穷，过气和爆火的速度几乎一样快。那么，2018年的社交媒体潮流有哪些呢？

Short video apps such as Tik Tok and its Chinese equivalent Douyin, took the world by storm. The Telegraph reported that Tik Tok was ranked 8th on Apple's App Store in April. And Douyin had more than 300 million domestic monthly active users in June, CNBC said.
短视频应用Tik Tok（抖音国际版）和抖音席卷全球。据《每日电讯报》报道，去年4月，Tik Tok在苹果应用商店上的下载量排名第八。而据CNBC报道，去年6月，抖音在国内的月活跃用户超过3亿。
Why are these short videos – which are rarely longer than a few minutes – all the rage? Jiang Yige, Singapore-based analyst at FengHe Fund Management, has a theory. Short videos are "just right to fill in the little gaps in our busy schedules," he told CNBC.
这些只有几分钟的短视频为什么会爆火呢？丰和基金管理公司驻新加坡分析师江一歌（音译）有这样一种解释：短视频“正好填补了我们忙碌生活中的小空隙，”他在接受CNBC采访时如此表示。
These videos – apart from being very convenient – are important to teenagers because they allow them to express themselves, according to Teen Vogue.
《Teen Vogue》杂志认为，除了便捷之外，这些视频对青少年而言十分重要，因为他们可以借此表达自我。
The sense of community that users of short video app get is another appealing feature. Liza Koshy, a user of the US app Musical.ly who has over 2 million followers, said that she was thrilled when anyone said that her video had "inspired" them. "It's really cool … because I think as social creators that's what we all are," she added.
短视频应用用户的社群归属感是另一大吸引人的特点。丽莎·科希在美国应用Musical.ly 上拥有超过两百万的粉丝，她表示，每当有人称她的视频“激励”了他们，她都感到相当激动。“那真的很酷……因为在我看来，作为社交媒体的内容创作者，那便是我们存在的意义，”她补充道。
Live streaming is a feature of our social media life that now seems as natural as sunrise. It's a pretty neat idea: You can watch anyone, anywhere, live.
直播是我们社交媒体生活的另一大特点，如今看直播就像太阳照常升起一般自然。这是个很棒的主意：你能观看任何人在任何地方的直播。
However, China has taken live streaming to a whole new level. In China, more than 100 million viewers monthly watch a live streaming video. Forbes thought that a number of factors had led to the popularity of live streams. Among them is viewers' ability to interact while remaining anonymous.
而中国已将直播发展到了一个全新的水平。在中国，每月有超过1亿的观众观看直播。《福布斯》杂志认为，有一系列因素带动了直播的大热。其中之一便是用户可以匿名在直播中互动。
However, the boom in social media may be having side effects too. Fake news is one serious problem it arguably causes.
但社交媒体的繁荣或许也会带来一些副作用。假新闻可以说是一大严峻问题。
Material shared on these platforms is often not checked for accuracy. The most basic content can be false and can sway users one way or another.
这些社交平台上所分享的素材往往未经查证。其中最基本的内容或许也是错误的，并在某些方面误导用户。
We use social media all the time; that doesn't mean that we understand the influence it is having on us. We should be mindful of both the time we spend on it and its impact on our minds.
我们每时每刻都在使用着社交媒体，但这并不意味着我们明白它所带给我们的影响。我们要留心自己花在社交媒体上的时间，以及其对我们思维的影响。