Digital Discourse Database

Number of Posts: 9
Posts 1 - 9

Are smartphones really making our children sad?

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Newspaper | The Guardian
Date | 13.8.2017
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | (mental) health, addiction, childhood, smartphone, threat, youth
Summary | Children's relationship with screens has become a contested topic; not everyone agrees with what should or shouldn't be done. Last week, the Atlantic published an excerpt of Jean Twenge's book (the Atlantic article was titled "Have smartphones destroyed a generation?"), which initiated very diverse reactions. Jean Twenge, who is an American pychologist, said that social media have a negative effect on young people. Twenger then answered some of her critics in this Guardian article.
Image Description | Photograph of a group of teenagers all staring at their phone or tablet.
Image Tags | female(s), male(s), smartphone, tablet

Unplugged Parenting - the smart new way to have a family digital detox

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Newspaper | Telegraph
Date | 7.9.2017
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | addiction, childhood, technology-free, youth
Summary | Parents are usually concerned about their children and their online habits, and think it's hard to find a balance in our digital world. Parents need to keep an eye on their children because there are some alarming consequences: for instance, many four year olds have language delays because they've spent too much time on screens. While technology is not all bad, parents also need to change their own behavior in order to find the right balance.
Image Description | N/A

Should I befriend my children and their pals online?

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Newspaper | Telegraph
Date | 10.6.2017
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | childhood, privacy, social media, threat, youth
Summary | 80% of children between 11 and 15 years old have a smartphone. They spend a lot of time on social media platforms. Social media have a lot of advantages but they can also lead to social exclusion and embarrassment. According to a study, Instagram and Snapchat are the worst platforms for teenagers and young adults. As a result, some parents want to join the same social media sites and befriend their children so they can keep an eye on them. However, this might not be the right solution. Children and parents have a right to privacy.
Image Description | Photograph of a woman (foreground) and two children on their phone (background), a kid using and looking at a screen,
Image Tags | female(s), male(s), smartphone, tablet

Children are humiliating victims by using memes and chat rooms to 'roast' them in the latest cyberbullying craze

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Newspaper | Mail Online
Date | 25.7.2016
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | childhood, cyberbullying, gender, texting, youth
Summary | Parents and teachers are worried about one type of cyberbullying; children pick on another with offensive abuse until the victim ‘cracks’. Girls seem to be twice as likely as boys to be perpetrators and victims of cyberbullying (boys seem to be more involved in physical bullying). It usually happens in group chats where people know each other. Cyberbullying is a competitive activity; the most offensive thing someone says, the better. One of the downsides of the digital era is cyberbullying and our children's protection.
Image Description | Photograph of a girl in front of her computer screen and photograph of a boy looking at a tablet screen.
Image Tags | computer/laptop, female(s), male(s), tablet

'They're collaborating all the time': the schools making the most of mobile

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Newspaper | The Guardian
Date | 13.1.2017
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | childhood, digitized education, school, smartphone, youth
Summary | Some schools are embracing the technological advancements influencing our everyday lives by incorporating them into their classes. Some classes have even become entirely paper-free! Not all, however, the learning tools are chosen so as to to help maximize students' learning. Students are already familiar and comfortable with most of the technology and it makes no sense to ban smartphones from classrooms if they can enhance learning.
Image Description | Two girls looking at a smartphone together.
Image Tags | female(s), school, smartphone

Sexting: A language our children must never learn

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Newspaper | Daily Telegraph
Date | 20.4.2017
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | abbreviations, childhood, sexting, technology-free, threat, youth
Summary | Youths are using abbreviations to keep their parents out of the loop like LMIRL (let's meet in real life). The police have published a list of these to help parents monitor their children. It is sad that children and teenagers have such low self-esteem that they do anything to receive validation from their digital peers. This is not just youth culture or rap music's fault but rather the parent's fault. They are always busy and spend too much time on their smartphone rather than gracing their children with face-to-face attention and smartphone-free activities.
Image Description | Getty image of a teenage boy smirking at a smartphone.
Image Tags | male(s), smartphone

Child-friendly web backed by Scottish Government

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Newspaper | The Scotsman
Date | 11.2.2014
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | childhood, pornography, sexting, smartphone, threat, youth
Summary | Scotland's government along with several prominent companies and personalities are trying to raise awareness about educating children about internet safety. Only few parents discuss problems of online safety such as pornography or sexting with their children. Most importantly, youths should be taught about what they can do when they encounter content online that upsets them, that they can approach an adult, various help organizations available, or report inappropriate content.
Image Description | Photograph of a woman surrounded by schoolgirls learning about online safety.
Image Tags | female(s)

How good is your grammar? Take the quiz

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Newspaper | The Independent
Date | 16.2.2016
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | childhood, grammar, language threat, research/study, school, texting, threat, youth
Summary | According to a study, texting can have a bad impact on young people's use of grammar. The results show that the more people text, the lower their score on the test was. There is also a correlation between the use of adaptations (e.g. gr8 for great) and a lower score. If parents text their kids with a lot of adaptations, the kids will probably imitate their parents.
Image Description | Photograph of a page of a dictionary where the word "grammar" is in sharp focus.
Image Tags | dictionary

Texting and talking is ok for adults, but don't tweet from the table: Study reveals mealtime phone etiquette

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Newspaper | Mail Online
Date | 10.5.2016
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | childhood, research/study, youth
Summary | A new study revealed some interesting results regarding the proper use of smartphones at the dinner table. Not all phone activities are perceived the same way; for instance, it is okay for parents to make a quick phone call or text during mealtime, but they should not tweet or post anything online. Also, an adult's use of smartphone at the dinner table is viewed as more appropriate as a child's. As a result, what is considered appropriate depends on who is present at the dinner table and what phone activity they're engaged in. The strongest predictor of appropriate use is actually people's own use of digital devices.
Image Description | Series of two photographs: the first one represents a family at the dinner table, with the mother on the phone, the father using the remote control, and both children texting. The second one represents a father and his son at the table; they are both using their phones. Series of two charts showing the details of the study.
Image Tags | chart, smartphone, text

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