Digital Discourse Database

Number of Posts: 94
Posts 1 - 10

One in four girls have depression by the time they hit 14, study reveals

Hyperlink

Newspaper | The Guardian
Date | 20.9.2017
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | (mental) health, gender, research/study, social media, threat
Summary | According to a new study, about 24% of teenage girls (and about 9% of boys) are depressed, which has led people to ask whether social media and issues related to body image have an impact on teenagers' health. It seems that today's girls are facing more mental health problems that previous generations.
Image Description | Photograph of a girl sitting on a deck.
Image Tags | female(s)

Twitter founder: Trump presidency is product of short attention spans

Hyperlink

Newspaper | The Guardian
Date | 13.9.2017
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | politics, social media, threat, Twitter
Summary | Evan Williams, one of Twitter's founders, claims that Donald Trump's online behavior is showing how social media platforms are making us dumber. Indeed, social networks are based on short attention spans, and they also undermine open-mindedness and our sense of truth. According to Williams, advertising models are to be blamed.
Image Description | Portrait of Donald Trump.
Image Tags | male(s)

Ban mobile phones in schools to protect pupils' mental health

Hyperlink

Newspaper | The Guardian
Date | 26.9.2016
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | (mental) health, childhood, school, smartphone, threat
Summary | According to Shannon Turner, schools should ban smartphones to protect their pupils. Screens and social media can have a negative impact on children's health, which is why some schools have already put in place new rules (e.g. give children 6 hours of digital-free time).
Image Description | Photograph of two pupils in a classroom; one of them is showing her friend a smartphone and the other is giggling.
Image Tags | female(s), school, smartphone

Growing social media backlash among young people, survey shows

Hyperlink

Newspaper | The Guardian
Date | 5.10.2017
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | (mental) health, addiction, cyberbullying, research/study, social media, technology-free, threat, youth
Summary | Two out of three pupils claim they would not care if there was no social media. According to the survey, young people are aware of the negative effects of new technologies on their lives and mental health. Some of them said that they had been victims of online abuse, that they were addicted, or/and that they felt less confident. Other pupils talked about the positive aspects of new technologies and social media (e.g. memes, Snapchat stories) and what improvements they would like to see. At a private boarding school for girls, pupils tried a new experiment: hand over their phones for three days. The girls liked the experiences and would like to do it again for a longer period.
Image Description | Photograph of someone (whose face is cut off) sitting on a bed and using/looking at a laptop.
Image Tags | computer/laptop

Girls and social media: 'You are expected to live up to an impossible standard'

Hyperlink

Newspaper | The Guardian
Date | 23.8.2017
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | gender, social media, threat, youth
Summary | According to a new poll, 1 out of 3 girls feels pressured to be "perfect" on social networks. Five teenage girls share their opinion on the subject. For instance, they constantly compare themselves to other people online and then feel like they have to project a perfect image of themselves online. Some people delete their pictures online because they don't feel confident anymore and think they are not following the "rules". Moreover, young girls online constantly look for other people's validation and "likes". Instagram seems to be the worst social network for those girls.
Image Description | Photograph of hands holding smartphones.
Image Tags | hand(s), smartphone

Are smartphones really making our children sad?

Hyperlink

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

How emoji are taking over the world

Hyperlink

Newspaper | Telegraph
Date | 3.8.2017
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | emojis, threat
Summary | Paul Kendall talks about the rise of emojis and their popularity. emojitracker.com is a website displaying a grid of 845 emojis; every time a user tweets an emoji, the emoji lights up. Young people (under 30) communicate through emojis nowadays. Even marketers use them to appeal to their customers. Emojis are useful and precise, they allow users to communicate non-verbal cues that are essential. People should not be concerned about the rise of emojis; they are here to stay, but they are not a language.
Image Description | N/A

Facebook's moderation policy aids bullies and censors their victims. When will we stand up?

Hyperlink

Newspaper | Telegraph
Date | 2.6.2017
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | censorship, Facebook, threat
Summary | The author of the article complains about Facebook's moderation policy, which shows how their perspective on free speech is unfair and dangerous. For example, Facebook does not condone certain forms of hate speech, posts about self-harm, or photos of animal abuse. She talks about other problems related to the company's moderation policy.
Image Description | N/A

Muslims should take to Facebook to condemn extremism, retired police chief suggests

Hyperlink

Newspaper | Telegraph
Date | 13.6.2017
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | Facebook, social media, threat, WhatsApp
Summary | A former police chief said that Muslims should use social media such as Facebook and WhatsApp to let everyone know how they feel about terrorism (i.e. that they denounce it). It seems that people don't believe Imams anymore, so Muslims should start a social media call to action.
Image Description | Two photographs of Mak Chishty (former police chief), white van used for the London Bridge attacks, and a group of men.
Image Tags | male(s)

Facebook using artificial intelligence to combat terrorist propaganda

Hyperlink

Newspaper | Telegraph
Date | 16.6.2017
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | artificial intelligence, Facebook, threat
Summary | Facebook uses artificial intelligence to get rid of terrorist propaganda on its platform. For instance, when a terrorist photo/video is uploaded, the system sees whether they match a known photo/video. Also, Facebook uses AI to analyze text.
Image Description | Digital image of the Facebook icon.
Image Tags | Facebook, logo

Page 1 of 10
Back | Next