Digital Discourse Database

Number of Posts: 13
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

Screens and teens: survival tips for parents on the technology battlefield

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Newspaper | Telegraph
Date | 23.9.2017
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | (mental) health, addiction, smartphone, social media, threat, youth
Summary | A mom talks about her battle over digital screens with her children. Children are spending more time online, and research keeps showing the negative effects that screens can have (e.g. isolation, bullying, porn, suicide etc.). Since the phenomenon is so new, it is difficult for parents -they have no guide to follow. Technology is not necessarily bad, but parents should make sure their children are okay and happy. The article provides a list with some advice concerning young people and screens; from screen time limit to online groups and social media.
Image Description | Photograph of a young girl using her laptop, a mom and her daughter with a laptop and tablet, three children behind books, and a mom and her two kids with a laptop, tablet, and smartphone.
Image Tags | computer/laptop, female(s), male(s), smartphone, tablet

Inside the rehab saving young men from their internet addiction

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Newspaper | The Guardian
Date | 16.6.2017
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | (mental) health, addiction, technology-free, threat
Summary | Marshall Carpenter is a 25-year old man who was addicted to new technologies. He used to play video games for 15 hours each day. Now, Marshall lives with other "addicted" men in an apartment in Washington State, where they started a rehab program called reSTART Life. The men talk about their experiences and how being addicted to the internet almost ruined their lives. At the rehab center, those men have to learn how to live again.
Image Description | Photographs of two men sitting outside in the woods, two men and a dog on a couch, man climbing a wall, woman standing outside a cabin, man sweeping, different vignettes with positive messages, man on a couch, and portrait of a man in the woods.
Image Tags | female(s), male(s)

Is it wrong to let my child play on my smartphone?

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Newspaper | The Guardian
Date | 10.8.2017
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | (mental) health, addiction, childhood, smartphone, technology-free
Summary | The author of the article sometimes feels guilty when she lets her 2-year old son play on a smartphone. When young children are glued to a screen, they are so captivated by what they're watching. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, children younger than 2 should have no exposure to screens; it can hinder their language and social development/skills. The author of the article also claims that her kids already show characteristics of "addicted" behavior. For instance, they scream and are irascible if someone takes their screen away. She also says that what is dangerous is not so much when kids are on screens, but rather when parents are.
Image Description | Photograph of a kid using a smartphone next to an adult.
Image Tags | female(s), male(s), smartphone

They don't learn the alphabet and won't have to sit an exam

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Newspaper | Mirror
Date | 2.2.2017
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | (mental) health, addiction, brain, game, law, school, threat
Summary | A mother who homeschools their children lets them play video games for up to seven hours a day. Experts criticize this because excessive video gaming reduces the development of empathy and other important psychological and cognitive developments. They are clearly not receiving nearly as much educaton as children in the public school system. All this is however legal as homeschooled children do not need to follow the curriculum or sit standardized exams.
Image Description | Portrait of the mother with her three children all holding a video game controller.
Image Tags | female(s), game, male(s)

Meet the 'mega monk' changing our attitude to happiness, one tweet at a time

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Newspaper | Telegraph
Date | 20.3.2017
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | (mental) health, Facebook, smartphone, social media, Twitter, youth
Summary | A monk from Korea has gained a large following on Facebook and Twitter with short posts with life wisdoms. Many people respond to his preaching of mindfulness: the position that people should slow down and take the time to reflect on themselves and their emotional state without becoming obsessed. The monk thinks these little moments of mindfulness are nowadays more important than ever, when we tend not to interact with each other directly but only through smartphones.
Image Description | A bunch of portraits of the Twitter-famous monk in various surroundings and a few of his tweets.
Image Tags | male(s), Twitter

Exhausted students 'crying in toilets and breaking down in class' over 'unfair' new GCSE grading system

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Newspaper | Mirror
Date | 9.5.2017
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | (mental) health, Facebook, politics, school, threat
Summary | A student has posted a rant about changes to the GCSE exam system making it yet more difficult. She describes how the whole student body has mental health issues since the changes were announced and just how ridiculous the expectations are. Her post has been shared almost 30'000 times by agreeing parents, teachers, and fellow students. Many commenters support her criticism while others show no understanding claiming that tests are meant to be hard.
Image Description | Getty images of someone writing with a pencil, and two images of exam situations, as well as a screengrab of the original Facebook rant.
Image Tags | Facebook, female(s), male(s), school

App lets doctors trade photos of patients for advice

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Newspaper | Telegraph
Date | 11.12.2016
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | (mental) health, social media, threat, WhatsApp
Summary | Many doctors often consult with each other when they are unsure how to treat a patient. This becomes a problem when they share images of patients without their consent on unsafe platforms such as WhatsApp. Now a safer platform has been developed where registered doctors can pool their expertise. Especially doctors working with refugees who don't speak their language find this incredibly useful.
Image Description | Refugee children and women wrapped in blankets.
Image Tags | female(s), male(s)

Digital friends making you lonely? Here are 9 things to do other than check Facebook

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Newspaper | Telegraph
Date | 2.3.2017
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | (mental) health, Facebook, research/study, social media
Summary | Recent statistics say that more young people feel lonely than old people - despite those active social media lives. Psychologists are eager to explain that social media activity cannot replace real human companionship. There are many things one can do to exit the social media anxiety habit: joing a class or club too meet new people or to see good friends on a regular basis, have phone calls with friends, spend weekends with friends, learn to be happy while being alone sometimes - this can be achieved by meditation and mindfulness.
Image Description | A series of Alamy images showing a woman using a smartphone in bed, a woman holding a smartphone with a laptop in the background, and various images of social activities with no technological devices (dinner, birthday party, wine drinking, gardening class) as well as a man using a laptop and smiling while talking on the phone and a woman meditating.
Image Tags | computer/laptop, female(s), hand(s), male(s), smartphone, WhatsApp

GENERATION SEXT Why intimate selfies are ruining children’s lives and making our kids ill

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Newspaper | The Sun
Date | 27.9.2016
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | (mental) health, research/study, school, sexting, youth
Summary | Sexting can be dangerous for teenagers; it can lead to mental disorders. When teenagers find out their picture is circulating everywhere, they may feel embarrased, anxious, and depressed. Those kids should seek psychological help. Moreover, parents should talk to their children, teach them, and warn them of the risks related to sexting. Parents should also look for any sexting problem signs.
Image Description | Series of five photographs: young woman looking at her phone, teenage girl smiling and wearing a short dress, portrait of a woman safeguarding officer, teenage boy looking at his smartphone, and teenage girl sitting on her bed and using her smartphone.
Image Tags | female(s), male(s), smartphone, text

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