Digital Discourse Database

Number of Posts: 12
Posts 1 - 10

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

Screens and teens: survival tips for parents on the technology battlefield

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Newspaper | Telegraph
Date | 23.9.2017
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | (mental) health, addiction, smartphone, social media, threat, youth
Summary | A mom talks about her battle over digital screens with her children. Children are spending more time online, and research keeps showing the negative effects that screens can have (e.g. isolation, bullying, porn, suicide etc.). Since the phenomenon is so new, it is difficult for parents -they have no guide to follow. Technology is not necessarily bad, but parents should make sure their children are okay and happy. The article provides a list with some advice concerning young people and screens; from screen time limit to online groups and social media.
Image Description | Photograph of a young girl using her laptop, a mom and her daughter with a laptop and tablet, three children behind books, and a mom and her two kids with a laptop, tablet, and smartphone.
Image Tags | computer/laptop, female(s), male(s), smartphone, tablet

Girls gang up on boys in new cyberbullying craze called 'roasting', expert warns

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Newspaper | Telegraph
Date | 25.7.2016
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | (mental) health, cyberbullying, gender, social media, texting, threat, youth
Summary | "Roasting" is a new cyberbullying craze where girls pick on boys on WhatsApp, Instagram, or Facebook until they crack. Teenage girls and boys have already killed themselves because of cyberbullying.
Image Description | Photograph of three young girls using and staring at their smartphone
Image Tags | female(s), smartphone

Mit SMS zum Suizid gedrängt – Junge Frau muss 15 Monate ins Gefängnis

(Pressured to commit suicide with SMS - young woman get 15 months prison)

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Newspaper | Welt
Date | 4.8.2017
Language | German
Country | Germany
Topic Tags | (mental) health, law, texting, youth
Summary | A young woman has been sentenced to 15 months in prison for pressuring her ex-boyfriend to commit suicide via text messages. Although she was not physically involved in helping with his suicide, the woman is held accountable for encouraging him and not calling the police when she knew he was about to commit suicide.
Image Description | Image of a woman crying.
Image Tags | female(s)

Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation?

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Newspaper | The Atlantic
Date | 0.9.2017
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | (mental) health, addiction, cyberbullying, gender, smartphone, social media, threat, youth
Summary | A US study has conducted a large survey among teenagers and found out that smartphones are impacting their lives significantly. They sleep less, go out less, date less, are less likely to get (someone) pregnant, feel left out more, have more mental health issues, etc. Especially girls are more likely to feel left out because they spend more time on social media and because girls tend to bully each other by ostracization which is very easily achievable in cyberspace. Also, the teenage suicide rate has surpassed the teenage homicide rate for the first time in history.
Image Description | Two illustrations showing a woman falling with a tablet and a woman lying in bed at night looking at her smartphone. Charts showing the results from the US survey.
Image Tags | chart, female(s), smartphone, tablet

Instagram, la peor red para la salud mental de los adolescentes

(Instagram, the worst social network for adolescents' mental health)

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Newspaper | El País
Date | 21.5.2017
Language | Spanish
Country | Spain
Topic Tags | (mental) health, Instagram, research/study, social media, youth
Summary | According to a British study, Instagram can have a negative impact on its users. Young people who spend more than two hours a day on social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook or Instagram are more likely to suffer from mental health problems, especially anxiety and depression. One of the respondents said that Instagram easily makes girls and women feel as though their bodies are not good enough, so they add filters and edit their images to look perfect.
Image Description | Photographs of someone taking a picture of two girls
Image Tags | female(s), hand(s), smartphone

Instagram ranked worst social network for young people's mental health

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Newspaper | Telegraph
Date | 19.5.2017
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | (mental) health, addiction, Instagram, research/study, youth
Summary | Recent studies show that young adults aged 14 to 24 find that Instagram and Snapchat incease their sense of anxiety and loneliness the most. The most positivity boosting platforms were YouTube and Twitter. Mental health professionals are trying to stay informed on what youth's life looks like today so that they can better connect with them in a mental health crisis. Social media are more addictive than alcohol and cigarettes.
Image Description | Alamy image of two women taking a selfie on a beach and an image of a smartphone screen showing the Instagram logo.
Image Tags | female(s), Instagram, logo, selfie, smartphone

La cure de Selena Gomez: décrocher du smartphone

(Selena Gomez's therapy: hanging up her smartphone)

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Newspaper | 20 minutes
Date | 2.12.2016
Language | French
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | (mental) health, addiction, smartphone, youth
Summary | Selena Gomez has been suffering from depression. She got off her smartphone for 90 days and felt much better. The experience was relaxing and invigorating. Even though Selena Gomez is trying to limit her time online, she is still very popular on Instagram.
Image Description | Photograph of Selena Gomez and screenshot of one of her Instagram posts.
Image Tags | female(s), Instagram

Niños adictos al móvil

(Kids addicted to smartphones)

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Newspaper | El Mundo
Date | 28.9.2015
Language | Spanish
Country | Spain
Topic Tags | (mental) health, addiction, cyberbullying, sexting, smartphone, Snapchat, threat, youth
Summary | Experts think that new social apps such as Snapchat are dangerous; they can encourage sexting and cyberbullying. Teenagers don't want to be on Facebook anymore because their parents and grandparents have a Facebook account. They want something more private; Snapchat is thus perfect. It's quick, simple, and 'snaps' disappear after a few seconds. However, Snapchat can be dangerous and encourage sexting and bullying. People still have time to take screenshots of snaps. Marc Masip, director of the psychological institute 'Desconect@' thinks that Snapchat does not bring anything good. It can lead teenagers to suicide or fear of going to class. Young people don't know anything about the risks of such platforms because nobody warned them. Parents should not give a phone to their kids under 13. When today's teenagers are 40, they will be used to communicate through a screen and won't have social skills to communicate face-to-face.
Image Description | Photograph of a teenage girl using a tablet and taking a picture of her face, hiding her eyes and smiling.
Image Tags | female(s), tablet

El 21% de los jóvenes está en riesgo de ser adicto a las nuevas tecnologías

(21% of young people are at risk of becoming addicted to new technologies)

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Newspaper | El País
Date | 3.7.2015
Language | Spanish
Country | Spain
Topic Tags | (mental) health, addiction, research/study, smartphone, threat, youth
Summary | A lot of young people are addicted to their phones; although they might not know they are addicted, they spend most of their time glued to their phone. Beatriz Valera is 19 and is addicted. She used to spend her days alone on her computer and smartphone. She would only spend time with people online. A psychologist expert in addictions claims that the need to be part of a social group makes people addicted to the digital world. Techno-addicts need to learn how to use their digital devices and how to control themselves. To help them, experts also suggest giving them the same advice as they would give drug addicts. Most of the techno-addicts are between 14 and 30 years old.
Image Description | Photograph of a girl holding a phone that is hiding her face.
Image Tags | female(s), smartphone

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