老年人爱读年轻人负面新闻以获自信

爱思英语编者按：据路透社报道，一项最新的研究表明，老年人喜欢阅读有关年轻人的负面新闻，因为这能增强他们的自信。德国的研究者说，社会倾向于描绘老年人的负面形象。尽管老年人通常被认为是明智的，但是他们也经常被贴上迟钝、健忘的标签。俄亥俄州立大学的西尔维娅•诺布罗克-维斯特维克博士说：“年轻人在我们的社会中地位更高。生活在以年轻人为中心的文化中，老年人也许希望能增强自信心。这就是为什么他们更喜欢阅读有关年轻人的负面新闻。”

Older people like reading negative news stories about their younger counterparts because it boosts their own self-esteem, according to a new study.

German researchers said older people tend to be portrayed negatively in society. Although they are often described as wise, they are also be shown as being slow and forgetful.

"Living in a youth centered culture, they may appreciate a boost in self-esteem. That"s why they prefer the negative stories about younger people, who are seen as having a higher status in our society," said Dr. Silvia Knobloch-Westerwick, of Ohio State University.

Knoblock-Westerwick and her co-author Matthias Hastall, of Zeppelin University in Friedrichshafen, Germany, studied 276 German adults, including 178 aged 18 to 30 and 98 between 55 and 60. Their findings are published in the Journal of Communication.

All the adults in the study were shown what they were led to believe was a test version of a new online news magazine. They were also given a limited time to look over either a negative and positive version of 10 pre-selected articles.

Each story was also paired with a photograph depicting someone of either the younger or the older age group.

The researchers found that older people were more likely to choose to read negative articles about those younger than themselves. They also tended to show less interest in articles about older people, whether negative or positive.

But younger people preferred to read positive articles about other young people.

According to Knobloch-Westerwick, older people"s preference for negative news about their younger counterparts can be explained by their place in society.

"Everybody likes a self-esteem boost. For young people though, it"s almost automatic. Youth is considered important in society," she said.

After perusing the articles, the participants completed a questionnaire designed to measure levels of self-esteem. Unlike their younger counterparts, the self-esteem of older people rose after they read a negative article about younger people.