Digital Discourse Database

Number of Posts: 16
Posts 1 - 10

So können nützliche Apps das Autofahren erleichtern

(This is how useful apps can make driving easier)

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Newspaper | Welt
Date | 19.8.2017
Language | German
Country | Germany
Topic Tags | (mental) health, law, smartphone, threat
Summary | It is prohibited to take a smartphone into your hand while driving - not to text, not to call, and not to check notifications or the time. One can use their smartphone via voice control or if it is mounted on the dashboard as a navigational unit. More and more car-targeted apps are becoming voice operated so as to make them useful for drivers.
Image Description | Images of hand-held and dashboard-mounted smartphones inside cars showing maps and the Facebook logo.
Image Tags | Facebook, hand(s), logo, smartphone

Diese drei Anwendungen sind besser als Whatsapp

(These three apps are better than WhatsApp)

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Newspaper | Welt
Date | 5.5.2016
Language | German
Country | Germany
Topic Tags | law, privacy, threat, WhatsApp
Summary | Brazil has just blocked WhatsApp in their country for 72 hours in order to for WhatsApp to share chats with their police in ciminal cases. It is unlikely that something like this will happen in Germany but it is good to know about some alternatives just in case... Especially since WhatsApp is not very trustworthy about user privacy. Threema is a Swiss app that alllows for user anonymity, Slack is a really good app to use with colleagues because files can be saved within group chats, and Telegram deletes inactive chats after a while so that there are no traces.
Image Description | Woman using a smartphone with headphones on the street.
Image Tags | female(s), headphones, smartphone

Darum ist Pokémon Go bei Muslimen verpönt

(This is why Pokémon Go is frowned upon by muslims)

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Newspaper | Welt
Date | 6.9.2016
Language | German
Country | Germany
Topic Tags | diversity, game, law, politics, privacy, threat
Summary | Many muslim authorities in varioius countries such as Saudi Arabia and Malaysia have declared Pokémon Go as wildly inappropriate for muslims. It references othher religions (with symbols) which allow for multiple gods along side each other, it propagates Darwin's theory of evolution, and most importantly: it constitutes gambling which is prohibited by the Qur'an. This does not mean that the state in Malaysia enforces that religious advice as a law. Non-muslim people are also worried about Pokémon Go but not because of ideological issues but because it can be seen as a surveillance scam and so a privacy breach hazard.
Image Description | Men playing Pokémon Go and portraits of a few male experts mentioned in the article.
Image Tags | game, male(s), smartphone

Bundesregierung will mehr über Googles Algorithmus wissen

(Federal government want to know more about Google's algorhythms)

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Newspaper | Die Zeit
Date | 13.5.2016
Language | German
Country | Germany
Topic Tags | Facebook, law, privacy
Summary | The federal government of Germany is pressing Facebook to be more transparent about the algorhythms collecting data about their users on their website. They claim that their citizens are not well-informed about what information they are sharing about themselves when using Facebook.
Image Description | Getty image of a pair of hands using a smartphone to navigate.
Image Tags | hand(s), smartphone

Das Monster lebt

(The monster is alive)

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Newspaper | Die Zeit
Date | 31.5.2017
Language | German
Country | Germany
Topic Tags | censorship, cyberbullying, Facebook, law, threat
Summary | Facebook is hiring thousands of new employees to battle cyberbullying on their platform and to remove offensive material as quickly as possible. But a couple thousand are not very many people to combat wrongdoings of 2 billion users. German politicians are trying to make Facebook comply with local laws about removing illegal content from the internet but Facebook is nowhere near fulfilling those requirements.
Image Description | A photograph of a man holding a smartphone showing the Facebook logo and the face of a monster.
Image Tags | Facebook, hand(s), logo, male(s), smartphone

Gesucht: Putzkräfte fürs Netz

(Wanted: cleaning personnel for the net)

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Newspaper | Die Zeit
Date | 10.5.2017
Language | German
Country | Germany
Topic Tags | artificial intelligence, cyberbullying, Facebook, fake news, law
Summary | Facebook is hiring thousands of people to check their platform for offensive content. Artificial intelligence and algorhythms have proven to be incapable of dealing with all nuances of human communication. They were not able to reliably identify cyberbullying content and fake news. Facebook is admitting the boundaries of technological possibilities and now hiring humans to do the job.
Image Description | Reuters image of a hand holding a smartphone in front of a screen showing the Facebook logo.
Image Tags | Facebook, hand(s), logo, smartphone

Soll mein Kind mit dem Handy für die Schule lernen?

(Should my child use a smartphone to study for school?)

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Newspaper | Welt
Date | 19.3.2016
Language | German
Country | Germany
Topic Tags | childhood, digitized education, school, smartphone
Summary | Education is becoming increasingly digitized - even in primary school. There are many learning apps on offer that let students practice lessons from school, for instance from math or a foreign language. Educators agree that digitized education is the future but that learning apps cannot replace a personal tutor if children have perform poorly in school. Parents are worried that by letting children do schoolwork on their smartphones the children will spend too much time using digital devices over all.
Image Description | Illustration of a girl sitting at a school desk holding her arm up. The desk is placed on a huge smartphone.
Image Tags | female(s), smartphone

Die Frau, die ungewollt mit Emojis ein Haus mietete

(The woman who inadvertently rented a house with emojis)

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Newspaper | Welt
Date | 24.5.2017
Language | German
Country | Germany
Topic Tags | emojis, language threat, law, misunderstanding
Summary | The debate around whether emojis count as words or seriously meaningful content is very heated - not only in academics but also in law. The Oxford English dictionary only reheated that fire by choosing an emoji as word of the year. Multiple law cases have centered on misunderstandings around emoji use, most recently a case where a woman indicated interest in renting a house with emojis (flamenco dancer, dancer girls, squirrel, comet, a victory sign, and a bottle of Champagne). The house owner sued her for using misleading emojis after she decided not to rent the house after all.
Image Description | An image of a woman's hand holding a smartphone and picking out an emoji and a portrait of the Israely judge who worked on the emoji case.
Image Tags | emojis, female(s), hand(s), male(s), smartphone

Nach Spielen im Internet kann man süchtig werden

(One can get addicted to games on the internet)

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Newspaper | General-Anzeiger
Date | 10.11.2017
Language | German
Country | Germany
Topic Tags | addiction, game, school, threat, youth
Summary | Internet games have a high addiction potential because one needs to spend a lot of time on it to succeed. Experts say that if one spends more than 4 hours a day on games, one has a problem and needs to seek professional help. Game addicts stop seeing their friends and let their school grades slide.
Image Description | Image of a boy sitting with his smartphone in his lap.
Image Tags | hand(s), male(s), smartphone

Hohe Ablenkung durch Handy am Steuer

(High distraction because of cell phone while driving)

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Newspaper | Norddeutscher Rundfunk
Date | 11.4.2016
Language | German
Country | Germany
Topic Tags | law, smartphone, texting, threat
Summary | Many people text while driving and do not realize how dangerous it is - more dangerous than talking on the phone. The statistics calculated by the German police are not complete they assume that 10% of car accidents is caused by cell phone distraction of a driver. They advocate for a raising of the fines, they are too low now so that people are willing to risk a fine.
Image Description | Image of a woman holding a smartphone while behind the wheel, a totaled car and a portrait of the interviewee (police officer).
Image Tags | female(s), hand(s), male(s), smartphone

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