It has long been believed that the smartphones in our pockets are actually making us dumber; but now there is evidence for it.

人们一直都觉得口袋里的智能手机让我们越来越笨了，现在有科学证据来证明了。

The constant presence of a mobile phone has a "brain drain" effect that significantly reduces people's intelligence and attention spans, a study has found.

研究发现，手机的长期在场会产生一种“脑力流失”效应，会严重地降低人们的智力和专注时长。

Researchers at the University of Texas discovered that people are worse at conducting tasks and remembering information if they have a smartphone within eye shot. In two experiments they found phones sitting on a desk or even in a pocket or handbag would distract users and lead to worse test scores even when it was set up not to disturb test subjects.

德克萨斯大学的研究人员发现：当手机在视线范围内时，人们在处理任务和记忆信息方面的表现会更糟糕。在两组实验中，他们发现只要手机放在桌上甚至只放在口袋或手提包里，即便设置成防干扰模式，也能让人分心并且导致更低的测试分数。

The effect was measurable even when the phones were switched off, and was worse for those who were deemed more dependent on their mobiles.

即使处于关机状态，手机的影响仍然很大，对严重依赖手机的人影响更大。

"Although these devices have immense potential to improve welfare, their persistent¹ presence may come at a cognitive² cost," said Dr Adrian Ward³, the lead author of the study. "Even when people are successful at maintaining sustained attention - as when avoiding the temptation to check their phones - the mere⁴ presence of these devices reduces available cognitive capability⁵."

这项研究的主要作者阿德里安?沃德博士表示：“尽管这些电子设备可以极大地便利生活，但手机总放在身边会导致认知能力下降。即使能够成功保持长期注意力，也就是能抵挡查看手机的诱惑，现有的认知能力也会因手机在场而降低。”

The researchers tested 520 university students on their memory and intelligence when in the presence of a smartphone to see how it affected⁶ them.

研究人员共测试了520名大学生，通过测试他们的记忆力和智力来研究智能手机在场与否对他们的影响。

Participants were told to complete tests in mathematics, memory and reasoning with their smartphones either on their desk, in their bag or pockets, or in another room, and with alerts turned off so as not to distract students.

实验中，手机被分别放在桌子上、包里、口袋里或其他房间，参与者在不同情况下完成了数学、记忆和推理方面的测验。为了不打扰测试者，手机提示音都被关闭了。

Those who had their phones on the desk recorded a 10 percent lower score than those who left them in a different room on operational span tasks, which measures working memory and focus. Those who kept their phones further out of sight in their pockets or their bags scored only slightly better than when phones were placed on desks.

与手机放在其他房间的人相比，手机放在桌子上的参与者在操作时长任务方面得分要低10%，这种任务主要是考查工作记忆力和注意力。而将手机放在口袋或包里等视线之外的参与者得分仅仅比手机放在桌子上的人高一点。

The researchers found that the negative effect of having a phone within eyeshot was significantly greater among those who said they were dependent on their smartphones. Participants who had expressed sympathy with phrases such as "I would have trouble getting through a normal day without my cellphone" and “using my cellphone makes me feel happy” performed as well as others when their phone was in a different room, but worse when it was placed on their desk.

研究人员还发现将手机放在视线内对自称依赖手机的人有更大的负面影响。当听到“要是没有手机我一天也无法正常生活”、“使用手机让我更快乐”等话语时，有些测试者表示深有同感。当手机放在其他房间时，这些人和其他人表现得一样好；但是当手机放在桌子上时，他们的表现却比其他人糟糕得多。

The study also found reaction speeds to be affected, with students who had their phone on the desk responding more sluggishly⁷ in high-pace tests.

研究还发现，反应速度也会受到影响。当手机放在桌子上时，学生们在快速测验中的反应更加迟钝。

It even found that phones can even distract users even when they are turned off and placed face down. Those with phones outside of the room "slightly outperformed" those with switched off devices.

研究甚至还发现：即便处于关机状态并且面朝下放，手机也能让人分心。实验中，将手机放在房间外面的参与者的表现要略微胜于关机的参与者。

The researchers said the effect arises because part of a smartphone users' mind is dedicated⁸ to trying to not think about distractions⁹ such as whether they have any messages when the handset is in their line of sight.

研究人员认为，手机之所以能对认知能力产生影响，是因为当手机在视线范围内时，手机使用者要消耗部分注意力来告诫自己不要分心，防止自己去想有没有短信之类的问题。

"We see a linear trend that suggests that as the smartphone becomes more noticeable, participants' available cognitive capacity decreases," said Ward. "Your conscious mind isn't thinking about your smartphone, but that process - the process of requiring yourself not to think about something - uses up some of your limited cognitive resources. It's a brain drain."

沃德博士认为：“我们观察到这样一种线性趋势，手机的存在感越强，参与者的认知能力就弱。你并没有在想手机，但是这个过程，这个控制自己不去想某个事物的过程，占据了你一部分本就有限的认知力资源。这也是一种脑力流失。”

Similar research has previously¹⁰ showed smartphones can have a "butterfly brain effect" on users that can cause mental blunders.

此前类似的研究表明智能手机能对使用者产生“大脑蝴蝶效应”，从而造成精神混乱。