Digital Discourse Database

Number of Posts: 8
Posts 1 - 8

Quand le smartphone fait de l'ombre au bébé

(When smartphones eclipse babies)

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Newspaper | La Tribune de Genève
Date | 13.6.2017
Language | French
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | (mental) health, addiction, childhood, smartphone, technology-free, threat
Summary | More and more parents take a lot of pictures of their newborn before holding him/her for the first time. As a result, a hospital in the Swiss German part of Switzerland decided to impose a new rule: no screen during mother-baby nap. The problem especially affects the younger generation (under 30). Parents seem to pay more attention to their smartphone, which is alarming. For instance, mothers post pictures of themselves in labor. There are no special rules in Geneva, but doctors and midwives are thinking about alternatives. An excessive use of smartphones can also have a negative impact on children's development.
Image Description | Photograph of a hand taking a picture of a newborn with a smartphone
Image Tags | hand(s), smartphone

Mattel lance une intelligence artificielle pour veiller sur les enfants

(Mattel launches an artificial intelligence tool to watch over children)

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Newspaper | Le Figaro
Date | 5.1.2017
Language | French
Country | France
Topic Tags | artificial intelligence, childhood, privacy, smartphone
Summary | Mattel presented its new AI assistant to be used in children's bedrooms. The assistant (Aristotle) goes off if a child is crying in the middle of the night, for instance. Then, parents receive a notification on their smartphone. Aristotle is supposed to understand toddlers' language and to develop/evolve with them. The assistant can talk to toddlers and play music.
Image Description | N/A

L'explosion des troubles chez les tout-petits surexposés aux écrans

(Rise of disorders in toddlers overexposed to screens)

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Newspaper | Le Figaro
Date | 18.5.2017
Language | French
Country | France
Topic Tags | (mental) health, addiction, childhood, school, smartphone
Summary | Toddlers overexposed to screens seem to demonstrate symptoms similar to autism, a doctor says. Toddlers have already access to smartphones. Sofiane, for instance, got his first tablet at the age of 18 months. His kindergarten teacher noticed that he never wanted to sit next to his peers, and would often space out. Moreover, he always needed an adult next to him to guide him. Those "screen children"often exhibit developmental delays as well as relationship, language and behavioral disorders. Children shouldn't have access to screens before 3. Some parents think that giving their toddlers "learning tablets" will help them in the future.
Image Description | N/A

"Le petit enfant cherche avant tout la relation"

("The child primarily looks for relationships")

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Newspaper | La Tribune de Genève
Date | 9.1.2016
Language | French
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | childhood, smartphone, threat
Summary | A psychiatrist talks about the relationship between children and screens. Before 3 years old, adults should always be there and should only use screens on a short period of time, to entertain. But it is important to also use traditional toys so that children do not think their parents only think of digital devices. Moreover, it is important to have rules: no tablet during dinner, nor to calm down a child. Also, tablets should not be used at night because of the light. Smartphones should only be used by parents; children should not use them to play.
Image Description | N/A

C'est la rentrée à l'école numérisée

(It's the start of the digital school year)

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Newspaper | Le Temps
Date | 30.8.2016
Language | French
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | childhood, digitized education, school, smartphone, youth
Summary | A school principal explains how digital devices can help children learn. He wants to progressively digitize 50% of the school material. Smartphones and laptops don't ruin the school system; we just need to know how to use them. At his private school, everyone has a an iPad where they can find their class material. Now, the school provides each child with an iPad, but soon everyone will bring their own device. Our digitized society has the advantage of tightening social relationships between people, which is something not everyone agrees with.
Image Description | Photograph of a child using a tablet.
Image Tags | chart, female(s), male(s), school, tablet

Abus d'écrans, responsabilité de parents

(Screen abuse, parents' responsibility )

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Newspaper | Le Temps
Date | 31.1.2015
Language | French
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | addiction, childhood, smartphone, technology-free, threat, youth
Summary | Parents keep complaining about the fact that their children are stuck to their digital devices. More and more households in Switzerland own several digital devices ("screens"), which has consequences on family relations. Indeed, screens hinder natural communication and create problems. Parents seem lost and don't know what to do. Some parents have specific rules: no phone during dinner, or no phone before going to school in the morning, or no more than 30 minutes a day. A psychiatrist claims that the main rule should be to always privilege people physically present around us, especially children.
Image Description | N/A

Des camps de désintox pour pour accros au smartphone

(Rehab camps for smartphone addicts)

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Newspaper | 24 heures
Date | 12.3.2016
Language | French
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | addiction, brain, childhood, smartphone, technology-free, youth
Summary | South Korea is one of the most digitally connected countries. As a consequence, 1 out of 10 children is addicted to internet and other digital devices. Rehab camps for young internet addicts is supposed to help children live without digital devices. In those camps, children go hiking, play guitar, and read paper books. Rehab can be tough; it is almost the same process as for alcoholics or drug addicts. At the end of the camp, those young people know how to appreciate real life and have to find out what the causes of their escape to the virtual world are.
Image Description | Photograph of young people in South Korea playing video games in a room full of computers.
Image Tags | computer/laptop, game, male(s)

Les mamans 2.0 ont tous les trucs pour garder leurs enfants à l'oeil

(Moms 2.0 have all the tricks to keep an eye on their kids)

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Newspaper | Le Matin Dimanche
Date | 11.5.2014
Language | French
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | childhood, smartphone, technology-free, texting, threat, youth
Summary | New technologies are changing family relations. Mothers think that giving their kids a phone will allow them to always keep in touch with them. However, the sooner children get a phone, the faster they grow apart from their parents. New technologies also change relations of authority in a family. Parents should not prohibit the use of screens; they should always talk to their kids about new media use. Parents who are not interested in new technologies are making a mistake; they are missing occasions to communicate with their kids and their authority is compromised.
Image Description | Illustration of a mother reading a "Happy Mother's day" text and being nostalgic of old times.
Image Tags | female(s), smartphone, text

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