Sexting. Cyberbullying. Narcissism. Social media has become the dominant force in young people's lives, and each day seems to bring another shocking tale of private pictures getting into the wrong hands, or a lament that young people feel compelled to share their each and every thought with the entire world. Have smartphones and social media created a generation of self-obsessed egomaniacs?

Absolutely not, Donna Freitas argues in this provocative book. And, she says, these alarmist fears are drawing attention away from the real issues that young adults are facing.

Drawing on a large-scale survey and interviews with students on thirteen college campuses, Freitas finds that what young people are overwhelmingly concerned with--what they really want to talk about--is happiness. They face enormous pressure to look perfect online--not just happy, but blissful, ecstatic, and fabulously successful. Unable to achieve this impossible standard, they are anxious about letting the less-than-perfect parts of themselves become public. Far from wanting to share everything, they are brutally selective when it comes to curating their personal profiles, and worry obsessively that they might unwittingly post something that could come back to haunt them later in life. Through candid conversations with young people from diverse backgrounds, Freitas reveals how even the most well-adjusted individuals can be stricken by self-doubt when they compare their experiences with the vast collective utopia that they see online. And sometimes, as on anonymous platforms like Yik Yak, what they see instead is a depressing cesspool of racism and misogyny. Yet young people are also extremely attached to their smartphones and apps, which sometimes bring them great pleasure. It is very much a love-hate relationship.

While much of the public's attention has been focused on headline-grabbing stories, the everyday struggles and joys of young people have remained under the radar. Freitas brings their feelings to the fore, in the words of young people themselves. The Happiness Effect is an eye-opening window into their first-hand experiences of social media and its impact on them.

短信。网络欺凌。自恋。社交媒体已经成为年轻人生活中的主导力量，每天似乎都有另一个令人震惊的故事，即私人照片落入坏人之手，或者年轻人感到不得不与整个世界分享他们的每一个想法的悲哀。智能手机和社交媒体是否造就了一代自恋的自大狂？

绝对不是，唐娜-弗雷塔斯在这本充满挑衅的书中认为。而且，她说，这些危言耸听的恐惧正在把人们的注意力从年轻人所面临的真正问题上引开。

根据一项大规模的调查和对13个大学校园的学生的采访，弗雷塔斯发现，年轻人绝大多数关心的是--他们真正想要谈论的是--幸福。他们面临着巨大的压力，要在网上看起来很完美--不仅仅是快乐，而且是幸福、欣喜若狂，以及难以置信的成功。由于无法达到这个不可能的标准，他们对让自己不那么完美的部分被公开感到焦虑。他们不是想分享所有的东西，而是在策划他们的个人档案时，进行了残酷的选择，并担心他们会在不知不觉中发布一些可能在以后的生活中困扰他们的东西。通过与来自不同背景的年轻人的坦诚对话，弗雷塔斯揭示了当他们将自己的经历与他们在网上看到的巨大的集体乌托邦进行比较时，即使是最适应的人也会被自我怀疑所困扰。有时，就像在Yik Yak这样的匿名平台上，他们看到的是一个令人沮丧的种族主义和厌女症的污水池。然而，年轻人也非常依恋他们的智能手机和应用程序，这有时会给他们带来巨大的乐趣。这在很大程度上是一种爱与恨的关系。

当公众的大部分注意力都集中在抢眼的故事上时，年轻人的日常挣扎和快乐却一直没有被关注。弗雷塔斯通过年轻人自己的话语，将他们的感受展现出来。幸福效应》是一个令人大开眼界的窗口，让人们了解他们对社交媒体的第一手经验及其对他们的影响。