Digital Discourse Database

Number of Posts: 10
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

Byte-sized guide for parents on how they can keep their children safe online this summer

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Newspaper | Mirror
Date | 3.8.2016
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | addiction, childhood, cyberbullying, privacy, research/study, threat
Summary | Parents want their kids to be safe online during the summer. A research shows that 8 to 16-year-old kids will spend about 130 hours on social media during the summer break. The article offers some tips to keep children safe (e.g. privacy and location settings, play together, how to deal with trolls and sexting, get children to play outside).
Image Description | Photograph of a kid holding a tablet of his/her lap, a kid's hand on a lapop, video about the Pokemon Go game, hand holding a smartphone, Minecraft characters, a little boy hiding his face, young woman making a face, two hands holding a smartphone, a child using a tablet.
Image Tags | female(s), game, hand(s), male(s), smartphone, tablet

The secret cyber-life of 10 year olds: Children admit to actively hiding their online activity from parents

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Newspaper | Mirror
Date | 6.10.2016
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | childhood, privacy, research/study, threat
Summary | About 51% of ten year olds have their own tablet and a 33% own a smartphone. Also, 42% claim they can hide their online activities from their parents. Young children can easily have access to digital devices, and are being exposed to bad language, violence, and pornographic content online.
Image Description | Two photograph of young children (males) looking at a screen, photograph of three young kids (females) using and looking at a tablet,
Image Tags | female(s), male(s), tablet

Tablets and smartphones damage toddlers' speech development

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Newspaper | Telegraph
Date | 4.5.2017
Language | English
Topic Tags | addiction, childhood, language threat, research/study, smartphone, technology-free, threat
Summary | According to a study, giving toddlers digital devices before the age of two can hinder their speech development. In Britain toddlers spend about 44 minutes a day using digital devices, and it can impact their language skills.
Image Description | Two photographs of toddlers using and looking at a tablet.
Image Tags | female(s), tablet

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

Los ‘smartphones’ no van a volver idiotas a tus hijos

(Smartphones are not going to make your kids dumb)

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Newspaper | El País
Date | 8.6.2016
Language | Spanish
Country | Spain
Topic Tags | (mental) health, addiction, childhood, research/study, smartphone, threat
Summary | Although it is hard to measure the impact of new media use on the brain, recent studies show that an appropriate use of screens can encourage learning skills. However, some studies show that a frequent use of screens for children under 5 may harm their developing brain. New technologies are always received with some apprehension; for instance, Socrates warned people that writing would be harmful for cognitive abilities such as memory. Although we don't know exactly what the consequences of an extended use of screens are, children under 2 should not be using any screen. A Professor at Harvard claims that although it might not be good for young children to use screens, they are not going to be dumb if they use them. Also, many experts agree with the fact that a passive use of screens (TV, tablets, etc.) is negative for a child's development. Children under 3 need a good balance of activities.
Image Description | Video of different children using tablets, and photograph of an adult and a child in front of a TV screen.
Image Tags | game, school, tablet, TV

CALLING ALL PARENTS Being glued to your smartphone is putting your children’s lives in danger

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Newspaper | The Sun
Date | 6.6.2016
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | addiction, childhood, research/study, smartphone, threat
Summary | A new study showed that parents who are addicted to their phones are putting their children's life in danger. Parents are distracted by their phone while they should be looking after their child. Adults should turn off their phones when they are with their children; it can save their kids' lives in certain situations.
Image Description | Series of two photograph: young mom with 2 toddlers on a swing; she is talking on the phone while looking at her tablet, and another young mom on her phone while looking at her tablet; she is pushing a stroller. Video of a mother who does not like the negative effects of social media on her kids; she uses a gun to shoot her kids' smartphones.
Image Tags | female(s), smartphone, tablet

How Silicon Valley's parents keep their children safe online

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Newspaper | The Guardian
Date | 2.3.2016
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | childhood, smartphone, social media, technology-free, threat
Summary | Silicon Valley's parents explain how they deal with their children's use of internet. Since parents cannot control everything or spy on their kids, they talk to them and teach them how to use the internet. Some parents have more restrictions; for example, no screens from Friday night to Saturday night. As a result, parents and children spend more time together and do fun activities. Other parents only let ther children go online with an adult's supervision. A psychologist claims that social media have a negative impact on children; they drive them away from family and school.
Image Description | Photograph of a female child sitting on her bed and looking at a tablet.
Image Tags | female(s), tablet

Jugend "Meine Jungs sind so passiv"

(Youth "My boys are so passive")

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Newspaper | Beobachter
Date | 22.8.2014
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | childhood, smartphone, threat, youth
Summary | A mother is worried that her sons are too passive, always hanging around with their smartphones instead of getting active in sports clubs or other social clubs. Experts advise parents not to worry as long as children sleep enough, keep their grades up in school, and keep a few social contacts. The younger generation lives in a different world of endless possibilities and of the fear of committing to one and failing.
Image Description | Photograph of two young boys playing on a tablet. Photograph of two young boys playing on a tablet.
Image Tags | male(s), tablet

Man kann Smartphones mit Drogen vergleichen

(Smartphones are comparable with drugs)

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Newspaper | Der Standard
Date | 30.5.2016
Language | German
Country | Austria
Topic Tags | childhood, school, technology-free, threat, youth
Summary | Media scholar Gerald Lembke pleads for a more careful usage of new technologies. He has banned laptops from his classes and was able to observe an increase in concentration and in grade averages. Further, Lembke urges parents and schools not to let children use computers or tablets until they are ten because they are not able to understand and engage critically with digital media earlier. This apprehensive stance towards new media usage is rooted in the fact that people use their smartphones an average of 3 hours a day (young people use them an average of 7 hours a day).
Image Description | One photograph of children playing on a tablet and one photograph of the author of the article.
Image Tags | female(s), male(s), tablet

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