社交媒体上近来流行“卖惨”，连名人都利用“卖惨”来赚流量，结果就是“狼来了”：卖惨的人多了，真惨的人也就没人信了。到网上寻求同情的青少年不但得不到同情，反而在网上遭遇了批评和欺凌，心理健康问题也因此越发严重。
A new social media trend called ‘sadfishing’ is harming the mental health of children, a new report has warned.
一份新报告警告说，社交媒体上新近流行的“卖惨”行为正在危害孩子们的心理健康。
什么是sadfishing？
In basic terms sadfishing is when someone posts about an emotional problem in an attempt to attract attention or sympathy from followers.
简而言之，sadfishing指的是某人发布有关情绪问题的帖子，试图引起关注者的关注或同情，可以理解为“求同情帖”。
The Cambridge dictionary defines sadfishing as the practice of writing about one’s unhappiness or emotional problems on social media, especially in a vague way, in order to attract attention and sympathetic responses.
剑桥词典将sadfishing定义为在社交媒体上书写有关自己的不快乐或情绪问题的一种做法，尤其是那种描述得很模糊的卖惨文，以引起人们的关注和同情。
由“博同情”演变为“卖惨”
According to experts the craze has been fuelled by celebrities who have been accused of posting exaggerated claims about their emotional problems to generate sympathy and draw clicks onto their sites.
据专家称，一些名人加剧了这种卖惨潮流，这些名人在个人主页上夸张地描述自己的情感问题，以博得同情并吸引点击量。
But while people are quick to criticise celebrities for overdoing the sympathy calls, new research has found young people facing genuine distress are often accused of jumping on the bandwagon when they turn to the internet for support.
但是，尽管人们很喜欢批评那些卖惨名人，但是新研究发现，当年轻人面临真正的苦恼并到网上寻求支持时，也会被人们指责是在赶潮流。
jump on the bandwagon: 一窝蜂做某事，跟随潮流
The new study, by Digital Awareness UK (DAUK) found that young people with genuine mental health issues who legitimately seek support online are facing unfair and distressing criticism that they are jumping onto the same publicity seeking bandwagon.
一项由“英国数字意识”团体开展的新研究发现，真正有心理健康问题的年轻人在网上合理地寻求支持的时候，却被视为跟风“卖惨”而遭遇了不公平和令人沮丧的批评。
In some cases this rejection can go on to damage teenagers’ already fragile self-esteem, with some reporting that they have been bullied as a consequence.
在某些情况下，这种排斥会进一步损害青少年本已脆弱的自尊心，有些青少年还报告说自己因此而受到了欺凌。
And in extreme examples some are left vulnerable to sexual ‘grooming’ online.
在一些极端的例子中，甚至有人被网络性引诱的犯罪分子盯上了。
The study, commissioned by the Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’ Conference (HMC), is based on face-to-face interviews with more than 50,000 children aged 11 to 16.
这项由英国校长会议委托开展的研究基于对5万多名11岁至16岁孩子的面对面访谈。
"DAUK is concerned about the number of students who are bullied for sadfishing (through comments on social media, on messaging apps or face-to-face), thus exacerbating what could be a serious mental health problem. We have noticed that students are often left feeling disappointed by not getting the support they need online,” the report says.
报告称：“英国数字意识团体担心受到卖惨欺凌（指通过社交媒体、聊天应用或面对面的评论被欺凌）的学生人数增加，会加剧原本就严重的心理健康问题。我们注意到，学生经常因为没有在网上获得所需的支持而感到失望。”
exacerbate[ɪɡˈzæsərbeɪt]: vt. 使加剧；使恶化；激怒
"Groomers can also use comments that express a need for emotional support as a platform to connect with young people and gain their trust, only to try and exploit it at a later point,” it continues.
“网络诱骗犯也可以把表达情感支持需求的评论作为平台，与年轻人建立联系，获得他们的信任，以便在日后加以利用。”
"At a time when young people are forming and shaping their identities, it’s understandable why they would choose to use social media as a platform for gauging opinions from others. However, in doing so, they are of course opening themselves up to abusive comments. In addition, positive feedback can result in increased self-esteem while negative feedback can reduce it.”
“年轻人正在形成、塑造自我的时期，不难理解为什么他们会选择使用社交媒体作为征询他人意见的平台。然而，他们这样做的后果就是让自己敞开大门接受辱骂性的评论。此外，积极的反馈会增强他们的自尊心，而消极的反馈则会降低他们的自尊心。”
The report comes as it was revealed last month that teenagers who spend more than three hours a day on social media may be at higher risk of mental health problems.
就在上个月，媒体发布报道称，每天在社交媒体上花费3小时以上时间的青少年可能面临更高的心理健康问题风险。
Findings from 6,595 youngsters aged 12 to 15 in the US found those who used social media more heavily were more likely to report issues such as depression, anxiety and loneliness, as well as aggression and anti-social behaviour, than teenagers who did not use social media.
对6595名12岁至15岁的美国年轻人的研究发现，与不使用社交媒体的青少年相比，频繁使用社交媒体的青少年更容易有抑郁、焦虑、孤独、攻击和反社会行为等问题。
Late last year a study published by NHS digital revealed that 11-19 year olds who suffer from mental health issues are more likely to use social media every day.
去年年底，由英国国家医疗服务电子系统发布的一项研究表明，患有心理健康问题的11岁至19岁的年轻人每天使用社交媒体的可能性更大。
But further research surrounding the topic of social media use and mental health in teenagers in the summer suggested it is the side effects of social media use, such as lack of sleep, that could present more of a problem.
不过，今年夏天，围绕青少年社交媒体使用和心理健康的研究表明，社交媒体使用的副作用，如睡眠不足，可能会带来更多问题。
The findings come from the first major study to analyse how heavy social media use could potentially damage mental health.
这一发现来自于第一项分析大量使用社交媒体如何对心理健康造成潜在危害的大型研究。
The study, published in the Lancet Child and Adolescent Health journal, indicates that while frequent use of social media does appear to be linked to having a negative impact on mental health, the effects are not direct.
这项发表在《柳叶刀儿童与青少年健康》杂志上的研究表明，尽管频繁使用社交媒体似乎与对心理健康产生负面影响有关，但这种影响并不是直接产生的。
Instead researchers suggest it could be down to social media users forgoing other activities, such as sleep and exercise, or that it opens the door to cyberbullying.
研究人员认为，这些负面影响可能源自社交媒体用户放弃其他活动（比如睡眠和运动），或者是由于社交媒体为网络欺凌打开了大门。