Digital Discourse Database

Number of Posts: 19
Posts 1 - 10

Why Twitter fans are more itchy than twitchers

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Newspaper | The Guardian
Date | 14.6.2016
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | (mental) health, addiction, technology-free
Summary | According to a new study, smartphone addict people are more anxious than people who love nature. They also tend to take seven times more selfies.
Image Description | Photograph of a hedgehog.

Could Steiner schools have a point on children, tablets and tech?

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Newspaper | The Guardian
Date | 14.6.2016
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | digitized education, school, technology-free
Summary | The Iona school in Nottingham is a more "traditional" school; pupils don’t work on tablets or computers, and in the classroom you can see the old-fashioned blackboard. The school curriculum is based on the 19th century philosopher Rudolf Steiner. Some critics say that the fact that those children don't use screens at school will be disadvantage for them later. When they leave school, they'll be part of a digital world which includes technology. They need to be prepared for that.
Image Description | Photograph of a woman and children kneading dough, man drawing on a blackboard, two boys on a tree, and two children making arts and crafts.
Image Tags | female(s), male(s)

Tech may rule, but the human backlash is coming

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Newspaper | The Guardian
Date | 24.11.2016
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | smartphone, technology-free, threat
Summary | Movies have a special relationship with new media: they hate it. Romcoms prefer showing people who fall in love while meeting face-to-face rather than on dating apps, sci-fi movies show apocalyptic scenes representing the future, and movies such as "Her" or "Ex Machina" show how artificial intelligence can lead to downfall. Why is the movie industry tech-sceptic? Maybe because the internet is ruining the movie business.
Image Description | Screenshot of a movie scene with Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard.
Image Tags | female(s), male(s)

Bring on the boredom - why being idle can be good for you

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Newspaper | Telegraph
Date | 14.3.2016
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | (mental) health, addiction, technology-free
Summary | Nowadays people are always connected, and they don't know how to be bored. Being bored is actually good for you (and your health) according to writer Eva Hoffman. However, people try to avoid boredom. People are addicted to new technology, which is not heping.
Image Description | Two photographs of Eva Hoffman, photograph of a woman yawning, and a woman using a remote control next to a dog
Image Tags | female(s)

Has tech ruined our relationship with time?

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Newspaper | Telegraph
Date | 29.9.2016
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | smartphone, technology-free
Summary | When the Oxford University Press revealed a list of the most commonly used nouns, number one was "time". Our lives seem to be dominated by (digital) clocks. If you take a look at available smartphone apps, you'll notice that they are designed to save us time. The author of the article wrote a book about people's obssesion with time. It is now almost impossible to experience time independently of technology.
Image Description | Photograph of an arm and a smart watch, and people gathered under the Waterloo station clock
Image Tags | female(s), hand(s), male(s)

Why are computers such a darned pain to use?

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Newspaper | Telegraph
Date | 16.1.2016
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | research/study, technology-free, threat
Summary | The author talks about her mother who never got online. She rejected everything related to new technology. A BBC survey showed that older people who don't want to use the internet are worried when they see that people are prioritizing online content over more traditional broadcasting. Banks or newspapers should nevertheless take into account people that feel left behind because they can't or don't want to get online. With new media, there is something new every month, and other things become out of date quickly.
Image Description | Two hands on a laptop keyboard, vintage radio, collage of four new technologies, and chart of UK's five tech types
Image Tags | computer/laptop, hand(s), keyboard

Creating a Healthy Relationship With Technology

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Newspaper | Huffington Post
Date | 8.11.2016
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | (mental) health, addiction, smartphone, technology-free, threat
Summary | Psychological tests confirm that the mere presence of a smartphone, no matter who it belongs to or whether it is ringing, decreases one's level of empathy for others. In light of this sobering fact we must make an effort to develop a healthy relationship with our smartphones because meany of us are indeed somewhere on the addiction spectrum. The author has experimented with deleting all social media and e-mail apps off of her smartphone: though it is difficult at first, and also enlightening about one's level of addiction, this step has ultimately decluttered her mind and calendar. She still has a 24 hour response rate to emails, which is acceptable. She is now trying to implement technology-free meetings at her workplace.
Image Description | A 'deathtostock' (image bank) photograph of a smartphone on a table with decorations in the blurry background.

The One Thing To Save (All) Your Relationships

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Newspaper | Huffington Post
Date | 22.11.2016
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | technology-free
Summary | Our relationships suffer because of smartphones. We live under the false impression that we are more productive when we are constantly connected with everyone via our smartphones when really the presence of a smartphone keeps us from actually listening to the person standing in front of us. We do hear them and acknowledge their speaking with minimal responses but we tend to get impatient and ask them to "get to the point". That person might however need someone to really listen to them and engage with their problem to find the point of the story themselves... Romantic relationships can also only profit from both partners being in the moment rather than multi-tasking with their smartphone. While we may think it is weird if someone turns off their phone for a date, it is really very respectful. The conversations that ensue in a smartphone-free environment run very deep and are critical for bonding.
Image Description | Getty image of a man and woman standing very close together on a subway train.
Image Tags | female(s), male(s)

'Everyone could know what I was doing': the millennials not using social media

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Newspaper | The Guardian
Date | 17.3.2016
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | smartphone, social media, technology-free, youth
Summary | The majority of millenials are active on social media; those who are not explain why they decided not to have a social media account. Although the young interviewees admit that social network sites are useful to stay in touch with people far away and to organize parties and other events, they also think that they can be detrimental. For example, some of the interviewees feel uncomfortable with the fact that people share intimate details about their lives online, and with the fact that everyone knows everything about other people. Also, some people think that it is a waste of time and that it is useless.
Image Description | Series of five photographs representing the interviewees.
Image Tags | female(s), male(s)

Cellphones really are addictive. Here's why.

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Newspaper | Washington Post
Date | 8.2.2016
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | (mental) health, addiction, smartphone, technology-free
Summary | The author reports of her journey of trying to reduce her smartphone use. She decided to start regulating her new media use in her everyday life because she knows the amazing feeling of being free of the internet for a while. Her family takes a technology free vacation every year. Smartphones attract our gaze in an addictive way, similar to casino slot machinces, studies confirm. Exessive smartphone use causes health issues such as sleep deprivation, high blood pressure, and car accidents.
Image Description | iStock photograph of a surprised man looking at his smartphone while lying in bed.
Image Tags | male(s), smartphone

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