Digital Discourse Database

Number of Posts: 12
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.

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)

Peut-on vivre sans écrans?

(Can we live without screens?)

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Newspaper | Le Figaro
Date | 13.5.2016
Language | French
Country | France
Topic Tags | (mental) health, addiction, smartphone, technology-free
Summary | In the past few years, new technologies have been spreading so fast. We use our smartphone everywhere (restaurant, bathroom, street). A few French people decided to unplug for an hour, a weekend, or their whole life. Marie Bezou says that she felt free when she gave up her phone. People who try to regulate their use of digital devices are rare. A 16-year old girl claims that she doesn't use her phone very often, unlike other young people who are hyperconnected. People who own a smartphone look at their device about 150 times a day.
Image Description | N/A

Plus d'humain et de culture dès le plus jeune âge

(More people and culture from an early age)

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Newspaper | Le Monde
Date | 5.1.2016
Language | French
Country | France
Topic Tags | (mental) health, addiction, childhood, technology-free, threat
Summary | As soon as a baby is born, he/she needs to be stimulated. Adults should talk to babies, play with them, look at them, and reassure them. However, more and more digital devices are starting to replace human presence. Adults don't hesitate to give their toddlers a tablet or a smartphone. This new trend can have a serious impact on children's cognitive development and language development.
Image Description | N/A

Pour être branché, débranchez-vous

(To be hip, unplug)

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Newspaper | Les Echos
Date | 6.1.2016
Language | French
Country | France
Topic Tags | (mental) health, addiction, technology-free
Summary | The author of the article talks about one of his recent experiments: he tried to stay away from social networks for 10 days. Although it was difficult at first, he thought it was a positive experience. He found his ability to concentrate, and realized that his thoughts could be summarized in more than 140 characters. According to a British survey, more than half of adults consider themselves addicted. Harvard researchers claimed that Facebook and Twitter can be as addictive as alcohol or nicotine.
Image Description | Screenshot of a facebook page and a pointer clicking on "log off"
Image Tags | Facebook

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.

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

Why every mum should take away their teens' phones

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Newspaper | Daily Mail (UK)
Date | 13.10.2016
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | (mental) health, addiction, research/study, smartphone, technology-free, youth
Summary | The author of the article decided to take away her two daughters' phones after 9 p.m on weekdays. because she tought it would be better for them and for the family. They were becoming too addicted to their phones. The mom noticed her two teens were also becoming more anxious and cranky. As a result of the new rule, the girls were really angry. A study shows that many young girls are depressed and anxious on a daily basis, which worries the mom. Several studies show that it can be beneficial for teens to have their online time limited.
Image Description | N/A

Eight things that will happen on your week of digital detox

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Newspaper | The Guardian
Date | 26.8.2016
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | (mental) health, addiction, technology-free
Summary | We are so addicted to our digital devices that we feel terrible when we have to live without them. We don't want to miss out on things that happen around us (good and bad news). A lot can happen in the world in one week (e.g new prime minister, wars, death of a famous person), so we could miss a lot without our digital devices. The author of this article went camping and found herself in an internet-free zone; she felt really anxious and started thinking that maybe someone she knew had died or that an important news event had happened. Without internet she would not know. Moreover, without internet people don't have virtual relationships; they have to communicate with words and body language. Despite all this, the author found that digital detox was good.
Image Description | Photograph taken from behind of a man sitting on the rocks of a canyon.
Image Tags | male(s)

Does quitting social media make you happier? Yes, say young people doing it

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Newspaper | The Guardian
Date | 21.9.2016
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | (mental) health, addiction, Facebook, social media, technology-free, youth
Summary | Interview with young people who decided to quit social media; they explain why. They mostly talk about deleting their Facebook account and how better they feel now. Some of them report feeling less depressed, happier, free, more productive, and enjoying meeting their friends face-to-face. Having a Facebook account was a lot of pressure for them; they didn't like the idea of having to report everything on the platform, to read articles they were not interested in, or to wait for other people's approval or "like".
Image Description | Series of three photographs: close up shot of hands holding smartphones, Snapchat icon, and Twitter app.
Image Tags | hand(s), smartphone, Snapchat, Twitter

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