These days it seems people can't complete simple tasks, like having a meal, without getting their phones out to Instagram it.
如今，如果不用手機拍照然后分享照片，人們似乎連吃飯這類簡單的任務也完成不了。

It would be easy to think our obsession with documenting everything takes away from the enjoyment of the experience itself, but a new study says otherwise.
我們很容易認為，癡迷于記錄一切，人們便無暇享受體驗本身，但一項新的研究指出情況并非如此。

Researchers have found people taking photos of events actually enjoy them more.
研究人員發現，人們在拍攝照片的時候，實際上會更加享受整個過程。

The study was published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. The participants who took photos reported being more engaged in the activity.
這項研究發表在《個性與社會心理學雜志》上。報告稱拍攝照片的參與者在活動中更加投入。

'One critical factor that has been shown to affect enjoyment is the extent to which people are engaged with the experience,' the authors wrote.
作者寫道：“人們對這段經歷的投入程度，是影響人們享受程度的一個關鍵因素。”

Photo taking helps this because it naturally draws people more into the experience, they said.
他們說，拍攝照片有助于提升人們的快感，是因為它很自然地吸引人們更多地參與其中。

The researchers asked over 2,000 people to take part in nine different experiments. In each experiment, individuals were asked to participate in an activity – which ranged from going on a bus tour to eating in a food court.
研究人員請2000多人參加了9個不同的實驗。在每一個實驗中，參與者被要求參加一項活動，活動內容多種多樣，可能是參加一個公車之旅，也可能是到一個美食廣場吃飯。

They were asked to either take photos or not, and completed a survey to show how much fun they had during the task.
研究人員要求參與者拍照或不拍，然后請他們完成一項調查，來顯示他們在執行任務過程中感受到了多少樂趣。

In almost every case, people who took photographs reported higher levels of enjoyment.
在幾乎每一種情況下，拍照的人都報告稱自己感受到的樂趣更多。

But the same effect happened in the other extreme, in that photo taking can make an unpleasant experience even worse, the study found.
但是研究發現，在另一個極端會產生同樣的效果。因為拍照會使不愉快的體驗變得更糟。

In one instance, participants went on a virtual safari and observed a pride of lions attacking a water buffalo, which most people did not enjoy.
其中一個例子，參與者進行一個虛擬的科學考察，觀察一群獅子攻擊一頭水牛，對此大多數人都不喜歡。

In that case, the photo takers enjoyed it less than those who saw the same encounter but did not take photos.
在這個例子中，與看到同樣場景但沒拍照的人相比，拍照的人感到更加不快。

Taking photos did not appear to increase enjoyment when the photos interfered with the experience itself, for example having to handle bulky camera equipment.
當拍照妨礙體驗本身時，比如必須扛著笨重的相機設備，拍攝照片似乎沒有增加拍照者的樂趣。

The researchers also discovered that this effect is not limited to the action of taking pictures. Participants in one experiment reported higher levels of enjoyment after just taking 'mental' pictures as they were going through the experience.
研究人員還發現，這種效應并不局限于拍照這一動作。某個實驗的參與者在體驗過程中進行“心理拍照”，之后他們表示自己也獲得了更多樂趣。

This shows it is the process of taking the photo itself that helps increase enjoyment. This means cameras that record any moment of an experience without the individual's active decision of what to capture are unlikely to have the same effect, according to the researchers.
這表明，拍攝照片這一過程有助于提高愉悅感。研究人員指出，相機雖然能記錄任何瞬間，但需要人們積極主動地決定要拍什么，才能達到同樣的效果。

英文來源：每日郵報
譯者：實習生朱善美
審校&編輯：丹妮