Global celebrity culture is fuelling our crippling "fear of insignificance"
A generation ago young people aspired to become lawyers and doctors. Now they yearn to be the next Oscar winner or celebrity pop star. But one university psychologist has warned this iswreaking havoc with our self-image and undermining our sense of self-worth. Over recent years people around the world have been suffering from an increasing fear of their own 'insignificance', according to Dr Carlo Strenger of Tel Aviv University.
上一代的年輕人多半渴望當律師或者醫生。現在的年輕人則夢想成為下一位奧斯卡獎得主或成為流行歌星。一位大學心理學家警告說，名人崇拜將會嚴重干擾人對自我形象的認識、破壞我們的自我價值感。近年來，全世的人都害怕越來越感覺到自己微不足道。以色列特拉維夫大學的卡羅•史春格博士說。
He began an interdisciplinary project on the phenomenon 10 years ago, after noticing a surge of this fear in his own patients. His findings, presented in a new book, notes hundreds of research projects that have charted an unprecedented increase in levels of anxiety and depression. By using a wide-ranging framework Dr Strenger thinks he has pinpointed the cause. "The impact of the globalinfotainment network on the individual is to blame," he said.
十年前，史春格博士發現他的病人中有越來越多的人陷入對自身渺小的憂慮之後，他就該現象展開了一個跨學科研究項目。他分析了上百研究個案後發現，人們的焦慮和憂鬱程度都以超已往的速度攀升。這一研究成果發表在他的新書上。從這個跨領域的研究中，史春格博士認為他找到導致該現象的原因。他說：全球化的資訊娛樂網路對個人的影響是罪魁禍首。
"A new species is born: homo globalis - global man - and we are defined by our intimate connection to the global infotainment network, which has turned ranking and rating people on scales of wealth and celebrity into an obsession." As humans we naturally measure ourselves to those around us, but now we live in a "global village" we are comparing ourselves with the most "significant" people in the world - and finding ourselves wanting.
"一個新物種－世界人－誕生了。作為這一新物種，我們的身份貴賤取決於我們與全球資訊娛樂網路的關係親疏。在網路的影響下，按財富和知名度給人們劃分等級，讓我們耽溺於其中。" 史春格博士說，人類很自然而然地會和身邊的人做比較。但住在"地球村"，我們比較的對象是全世界最受關注的人，對比之下就發現了自己的不足。
Today, even high achievers constantly fear that they are insignificant when they compare themselves to success stories in the media "This creates highly unstable self-esteem and an unstable society," Dr Strenger said. Instead, Dr Strenger says people should stop measuring their achievement through cultural fantasies of riches and celebrity, which cannot lead to fulfillment.
如今，即使是那些成就卓越的人也會經常覺得自己跟媒體描述的成功人士比起來顯得渺小，史春格博士說，“這種渺小的感覺導致了極度脆弱的自尊和不穩定的社會。” 史春格博士認為，人們不應該用那些富豪和名人的文化傳奇作基準來衡量自己的成就，這種比較並不會帶來成就感。
The remedy is a process that he calls "active self-acceptance" through a sustained quest for self-knowledge through life. The fear of insignificance can only be overcome through strong individual and cultural identity over and above measurable achievement. He believes that people need to invest as much time in developing their worldviews as their careers.
史春格博士說，人們可以通過一個他稱之為"積極自我接納"的過程來治療這種"渺小恐懼症"。"積極自我接納"是一個在生活中不斷地發現自我的過程。這種"渺小恐懼症"只能通過超脫於有限個人成就的強烈個人和文化認同感來克服。史春格博士認為，人們應該花費和發展職業同樣多的時間來培養他們的世界觀。
"Stable meaning cannot be found in cheap paperbacks. People should invest time and thought to their worldviews and self-understanding in the same way they invest in medical studies and law school," Dr Strenger advises.
史春格博士建議：廉價的平裝書中很難有真知，人們應該拿出研究醫學和法律的態度來培養他們的世界觀和自我認知。
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