Digital Discourse Database

Number of Posts: 10
Posts 1 - 10

Quand le smartphone fait de l'ombre au bébé

(When smartphones eclipse babies)

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Newspaper | La Tribune de Genève
Date | 13.6.2017
Language | French
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | (mental) health, addiction, childhood, smartphone, technology-free, threat
Summary | More and more parents take a lot of pictures of their newborn before holding him/her for the first time. As a result, a hospital in the Swiss German part of Switzerland decided to impose a new rule: no screen during mother-baby nap. The problem especially affects the younger generation (under 30). Parents seem to pay more attention to their smartphone, which is alarming. For instance, mothers post pictures of themselves in labor. There are no special rules in Geneva, but doctors and midwives are thinking about alternatives. An excessive use of smartphones can also have a negative impact on children's development.
Image Description | Photograph of a hand taking a picture of a newborn with a smartphone
Image Tags | hand(s), smartphone

Schulen verbieten Handys – sogar während Pausen

(Schools prohibit mobile phones – even during recess)

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Newspaper | 20 Minuten
Date | 11.9.2016
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | digitized education, school, smartphone, technology-free
Summary | Several Swiss schools are prohibiting smartphone use at school, even outside of classes. Apparently, teachers think that students are no longer interacting with one another. This ban clearly clashes with the Swiss German curriculum reform “Lehrplan 21” which plans to occasionally introduce smartphone use in the classroom for school assignments. It does not make sense for a few schools to refuse to acknowledge what is now a reality, namely that people now frequently use their smartphones to communicate rather than talking face-to-face.
Image Description | Series of four photographs: group of teenagers sitting together and using their smartphone, and three portraits of male interviewees.
Image Tags | female(s), male(s), smartphone

"Je suis accro aux jeux sur smartphone"

("I am addicted to smartphone games")

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Newspaper | 24 heures
Date | 11.5.2014
Language | French
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | addiction, smartphone, technology-free, threat
Summary | Anne is a 40-year old mom and she was addicted to the game Candy Crush. She used to spend most of her time online to play that game; she would even play instead of spending time with her family. Then, one day, she saw a TV show where two women were sitting at the kitchen table and were both on their phone without talking. Anne realized that she had made a huge mistake. She went back to real life and felt much better. Now she realizes how unhealthy her life was.
Image Description | Photograph of two hands playing Candy Crush on a smartphone.
Image Tags | hand(s), smartphone

Toujours plus accro aux smartphones

(More and more addicted to smartphones)

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Newspaper | Le Matin
Date | 3.12.2014
Language | French
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | (mental) health, addiction, smartphone, technology-free, threat
Summary | We carry our smartphone everywhere: bed, bathroom, work, train etc., which can render people addicted. Corine Kibora (spokeswoman at Addiction Switzerland) claims that people can be addicted to social media, news applications, emails etc. When a smartphone disturbs someone's eating, sleeping, or work habits, there is a problem. There can be health issues (eyes tired, sleep disorders) and social issues (personal relations and communication). Kibora suggests setting a schedule; no smartphone during dinner for example.
Image Description | Photograph of a man lying in bed with his smartphone in his hand.
Image Tags | male(s), smartphone

Comment j'ai survécu à...une semaine sans smartphone

(How I survived...a week without smartphone)

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Newspaper | La Tribune de Genève
Date | 18.7.2015
Language | French
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | addiction, email, smartphone, technology-free
Summary | A journalist tried to live 7 days without her smartphone and talks about her experience. She might be part of the 20% of the Swiss addicted to their smartphone. People are addicted when they spend more time online than with their friends and family. This is not her case. She also realizes that with a smartphone, there is almost no separation between private and professional life; she can read her emails anytime. Without her smartphone, the journalist finds it difficult to organize her day: who is going to pick up the kids? At what time?
Image Description | Blurred photograph of a woman holding a phone; the person is blurred but the phone is in sharp focus.
Image Tags | female(s), smartphone

Un festival bannit les téléphones portables

(A festival banned cell phones)

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Newspaper | 20 minutes
Date | 27.5.2016
Language | French
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | addiction, smartphone, technology-free, youth
Summary | A small festival in Zug decided to ban cell phones so that people can enjoy the festival and live the "present". Smartphones are useful, but it is annoying when people spend most of their time on them. This new rule is a good marketing strategy; it allows the festival to be noticed. However, the restriction couldn't be applied to other big festival such as Paleo Festival or Montreux Jazz Festival.
Image Description | Series of four photographs portraying young people and shots of the festival layout.
Image Tags | female(s), male(s), smartphone

Des écoles banissent le portable des préaux

(Schools prohibit cell phones on their playgrounds)

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Newspaper | 20 minutes
Date | 12.9.2016
Language | French
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | school, smartphone, technology-free, threat, youth
Summary | Several schools in Switzerland have prohibited the use of smartphones during recess. Students do not learn as well as before, and interactions in the classrooms are not as good. Other people don't agree with this new rule. Schools need to accept the fact that everyone owns a smartphone nowadays. People communicate, which is a huge advantage of smartphones. Also, students should be able to be "free" during recess. They might want to be alone, and this is okay. Finally, a school principal thinks that prohibiting smartphones during recess is better for students; smartphones hinder the development of intercommunication.
Image Description | Photograph of a group of young male teenagers smiling and looking at their smartphones.
Image Tags | male(s), smartphone

Les mamans 2.0 ont tous les trucs pour garder leurs enfants à l'oeil

(Moms 2.0 have all the tricks to keep an eye on their kids)

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Newspaper | Le Matin Dimanche
Date | 11.5.2014
Language | French
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | childhood, smartphone, technology-free, texting, threat, youth
Summary | New technologies are changing family relations. Mothers think that giving their kids a phone will allow them to always keep in touch with them. However, the sooner children get a phone, the faster they grow apart from their parents. New technologies also change relations of authority in a family. Parents should not prohibit the use of screens; they should always talk to their kids about new media use. Parents who are not interested in new technologies are making a mistake; they are missing occasions to communicate with their kids and their authority is compromised.
Image Description | Illustration of a mother reading a "Happy Mother's day" text and being nostalgic of old times.
Image Tags | female(s), smartphone, text

Multitasking ist ein Mythos

(Multi-tasking is a myth)

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Newspaper | St. Galler Tagblatt
Date | 13.12.2014
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | addiction, school, smartphone, technology-free, threat
Summary | A group of students from the College of Economics in St. Gallen (HSG) have launched a campaign to encourage fellow students to put their smartphones away during lectures. Having a smartphone available all the time significantly distracts students from the task at hand. According to a study, every hour spent studying with a smartphone at hand includes 36 minutes of smartphone activity.
Image Description | Photograph/digital image of two monkeys taking notes in a lecture hall.
Image Tags | computer/laptop, smartphone

Gemeinsam einsam: Wir können das Rad nicht zurückdrehen

(Together alone: We can’t turn the clock back)

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Newspaper | Beobachter
Date | 1.4.2016
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | addiction, brain, smartphone, technology-free
Summary | ETH Neuroscientist Arko Ghosh has found out that smartphone use increases the size of the sensory/motoric front cortex of the brain. While many news media have reported his findings, few deeply engaged with his study. They rather just wanted to know from him whether that meant that smartphones were good or bad for the brain. One hotel in the Bernese Alps even advertises their location as particularly attractive because there is no cell phone reception or internet connection. Multiple apps to keep track of one’s smartphone use already exist.
Image Description | A group of four young people are staring at their phones.
Image Tags | female(s), male(s), smartphone

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