Digital Discourse Database

Number of Posts: 19
Posts 1 - 10

Wege aus der Peinlichkeit

(Exit ways out of embarrassment)

Hyperlink

Newspaper | die Weltwoche
Date | 28.9.2017
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | emojis, gender, misunderstanding, online dating, politeness, research/study, texting, youth
Summary | Emojis have entered our communication with no turning back but using them is a minefield of misunderstanding. It is especially risky in the initial stages of texting with a love interest: studies show that people tend to imitate the communication patterns of their interlocutor if they are in love with them. Because women are more communicative than men, they tend to be the ones who are imitated in such a scenario. But men, beware! Do not go overboard with your heart emojis, it's too girly. One should however also refrain from making overly abrupt changes to ones emoji habits as it can seem distanced and elitist if one stops to use emojis altogether.
Image Description | N/A

Von Japan zu Kim-Kardashian und Vampir-Emojis

(From Japan to Kim Kardashian and vampire emojis)

Hyperlink

Newspaper | Sonntagszeitung
Date | 20.8.2017
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | emojis, gender, marketing, research/study, Twitter, What's up Switzerland
Summary | Invented in Japan, emojis are now features in films, art museums, and the marketing strategy of Kim Kardashian. More importantly, they are used in 95% of the WhatsApp data collected by "What's up, Switzerland?". 92% off all internet users use emojis regularly, 57% of emojis on Twitter are from women, and only 7% of people use the peach emoji to mean the actual fruit.
Image Description | N/A

«In Japan steht für Danke, im Westen für Beten»

("In Japan it means thank you, in the West it signals praying")

Hyperlink

Newspaper | Sonntagszeitung
Date | 20.8.2017
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | emojis, marketing, misunderstanding, research/study, texting, translation
Summary | Keith Broni, one of the first emoji translators world-wide, has been chosen from 500 applicants. He has researched the use of emojis at the University of London and he is an expert of how people from different cultures understand emojis. He works as a makerting consultant to various companies and advises them on how to use emojis as a corporation. Using emojis can be fraught with risk as hand gestures can mean very different things in different cultures. Even within the same culture emoji use can be risky. At this point, it is more risky not to use any emojis in casual texting because of the negativity effect which means that messsages without emojis seem cold or distanced.
Image Description | N/A

Ruhe, bitte!

(Silence, please!)

Hyperlink

Newspaper | Die Zeit
Date | 26.1.2017
Language | German
Country | Germany
Topic Tags | (mental) health, research/study, smartphone, threat
Summary | New technology is likely contributing to insomnia. One third of adults suffer insomnia. All our internet devices make it difficult for us to let go of what is happening in the world because we can access it at all times. Sleep experts advise people who suffer from insomnia to stop looking at notifications before one goes to sleep and to ban all electronic devices from the bedroom.
Image Description | Image of a woman sleeping on a skyscraper and images of men (experts) mentioned in the article.
Image Tags | female(s), male(s)

Für kluge Menschen ist Twitter das bessere Tinder

(For smart people Twitter is better than Tinder)

Hyperlink

Newspaper | Welt
Date | 13.6.2017
Language | German
Country | Germany
Topic Tags | gender, online dating, research/study, Twitter
Summary | Online dating apps like Tinder clearly put the focus on images. Considering that many womenvalue a sense of humor very highly in a partner, people should be looking for partners on Twitter because that is where most people showcase their wit. A recent dating survery on Twitter has shown that many users are single and looking for a partner and that many follow other Twitter users out of romantic interest. Most however also report not thinking that Twitter is an appropriate platform to ask someone out on a date.
Image Description | Image of a woman in a cafe looking at her smartphone.
Image Tags | female(s), smartphone

Facebook will Menschen mit dem Gehirn tippen lassen

(Facebook wants to let people type with their brain)

Hyperlink

Newspaper | Welt
Date | 21.4.2017
Language | German
Country | Germany
Topic Tags | brain, Facebook, privacy, research/study, translation
Summary | Facebook is working on ways to enable people to write without typing. Stanford university has succeeded in implanting electrodes into a woman's brain letting her type merely by thinking. This would also eventually enable people to write in languages that they do not speak because our brain does not function verbally. Facebook is however very clear about not wanting to read people's minds completely without their consent. The technology would only pick up selective thoughts wich users consent to sharing.
Image Description | N/A

Generation Blödphone?

(Generation Dumbphone?)

Hyperlink

Newspaper | Der Bund
Date | 11.8.2017
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | addiction, research/study, smartphone, threat, youth
Summary | A US study has conducted surveys among teenagers asking them how often they go out without their parents, whether they date or have had sex, how much they sleep , etc. The results show that teenagers go out/date less, sleep less, and have sex later in life since the advent of smartphones. Swiss media psychologist Gregor Waller criticizes the study because it bases its conclusions on mere correlation. It leaves out other important developments in the US since 2007 like the financial crisis. An equivalent Swiss study does not show similar results. Most Swiss teenagers continue to have a rich social life despite smartphones. Only about 10% of Swiss teenagers are at risk of smartphone addiction.
Image Description | Graphs showing results of the US study and a portrait of the interviewee (Swiss psychologist Gregor Waller).
Image Tags | chart, male(s)

Paulinas Englischlehrer

(Paulina's English teacher)

Hyperlink

Newspaper | Die Zeit
Date | 6.7.2017
Language | German
Country | Germany
Topic Tags | childhood, digitized education, research/study, technology-free
Summary | Linguists are currently working on robots who can teach foreign languages to children. It is a new research field and it is being tested in several childcare institutions and kindergardens. The results show that children learn better when they are emotionally invested and that is the main advantage of a robot versus just a tablet.The robot is more humanoid and responds emotionally (with praise for correct answers for instance). Recent studies say that 70% of pre-schoolers user their parents' smartphones or tablets for more than 30 minutes a day when that should be the maximum screen time (including TV) a child has per day.
Image Description | A girl using the language learning robot.
Image Tags | female(s), school

Der Smartphone-Boom geht allmählich zu Ende

(The smartphone boom is slowly wearing off)

Hyperlink

Newspaper | Welt
Date | 14.2.2017
Language | German
Country | Germany
Topic Tags | research/study, smartphone
Summary | Recent statistics show that smartphone sales increases are going down across the board. This is due the the saturation of the large markets of North America, Europe, and China. Global frontrunner is Samsung; almost half of all German smartphone users have a Samsung device while less than 20% have an iPhone. Polls have shown that almost 50% think that smartphones are the most important innovation of the 21st century because they have changed our everyday lives so substantially.
Image Description | Slideshows explaining vaguely connected technological issues. (Not really illustrating the article.)

Mein Wort in Bots Ohr

(My word in bot's ear)

Hyperlink

Newspaper | Die Zeit
Date | 29.6.2017
Language | German
Country | Germany
Topic Tags | artificial intelligence, emojis, misunderstanding, research/study
Summary | Chatbots are currently exploding. Some say that by 2020 humans will communicate with chatbots more than with other humans. Chatbots are digital chat partners that help organize one's schedule, keep track of shopping lists, can help book holidays, and provide various other information from within a mesaging app. Polls show, however, that only one in four people would consider using a chatbot right now. That may be because they do not understand all questions yet and there is room for improvement. They are designed to be great digital conversationalists using a lot of emojis.
Image Description | An illustration visualizing the use of many chatbots while shopping at a grocery store.

Page 1 of 2
Back | Next