Digital Discourse Database

Number of Posts: 15
Posts 1 - 10

Tablets and smartphones damage toddlers' speech development

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Newspaper | Telegraph
Date | 4.5.2017
Language | English
Topic Tags | addiction, childhood, language threat, research/study, smartphone, technology-free, threat
Summary | According to a study, giving toddlers digital devices before the age of two can hinder their speech development. In Britain toddlers spend about 44 minutes a day using digital devices, and it can impact their language skills.
Image Description | Two photographs of toddlers using and looking at a tablet.
Image Tags | female(s), tablet

Smartphone Era Politics

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Newspaper | The New York Times
Date | 23.2.2016
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | addiction, language threat, research/study, smartphone
Summary | Smartphones are changing everything: the news media, politics, and most fundamentally how humans communicate and connect with one another. A UK study claims that we check our phones over 200 times a day. All the app notifications are addictive. Despite this extensive use of a communication device, we most rarely use it to communicate with one another.
Image Description | N/A

Generation Blödphone?

(Generation Dumbphone?)

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Newspaper | Der Bund
Date | 11.8.2017
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | addiction, research/study, smartphone, threat, youth
Summary | A US study has conducted surveys among teenagers asking them how often they go out without their parents, whether they date or have had sex, how much they sleep , etc. The results show that teenagers go out/date less, sleep less, and have sex later in life since the advent of smartphones. Swiss media psychologist Gregor Waller criticizes the study because it bases its conclusions on mere correlation. It leaves out other important developments in the US since 2007 like the financial crisis. An equivalent Swiss study does not show similar results. Most Swiss teenagers continue to have a rich social life despite smartphones. Only about 10% of Swiss teenagers are at risk of smartphone addiction.
Image Description | Graphs showing results of the US study and a portrait of the interviewee (Swiss psychologist Gregor Waller).
Image Tags | chart, male(s)

Kein Whiskey für kleine Kinder

(No whiskey for little children)

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Newspaper | Tages-Anzeiger
Date | 31.5.2017
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | (mental) health, addiction, research/study, smartphone
Summary | Recent studies show correlation between early and/or excessive smartphone use in children and ADHD, deprived linguistic development, and obesity. These studies do not confirm causation, other factors certainly play into how one is affected by the digitalization. The addictive potential of digital devices is however beyond doubt.
Image Description | Keystone image of a girl staring at a smartphone.
Image Tags | female(s), smartphone

Les jeunes passent plus de temps sur le net

(Young people spend more time online)

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Newspaper | 20 minutes
Date | 9.11.2016
Language | French
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | addiction, research/study, smartphone, social media, threat, youth
Summary | According to a study, young people spend an average of 2 hours and 30 minutes online during the week, and 3 hours and 40 minutes on the weekend. Also, young people cannot live without their smartphone. They don't usually use their phone to make phone calls or text; they rather use their phone for social media (e.g. Snapchat, Instagram). Even though young people spend a lot of time on their phone, they still meet with friends face-to-face. Smartphones do not replace physical relationships. Finally, families should have rules for new media use at home.
Image Description | Photograph of a group of teenagers (their faces are cut off from the picture); they are sitting next to each other using their phones.
Image Tags | smartphone

Los jóvenes se sienten incompletos sin internet y las redes sociales

(Young people feel incomplete without internet and social media)

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Newspaper | El Mundo
Date | 9.4.2014
Language | Spanish
Country | Spain
Topic Tags | addiction, research/study, smartphone, social media, threat, youth
Summary | A lot of young people wouldn't be able to live without new technologies (internet, social media, etc.). According to a study, they feel isolated and incomplete without them, and they wouldn't know how to socialize. Young people are aware of the advantages of internet and social media (e.g. possibility to have many relationships) as well as the risks of such new technologies (e.g. loss of privacy). They also know they can become dependent on their digital devices. However, they are not so worried; they think such disadvantages are normal and part of today's society. The survey also showed contradictory results; 74% of the respondents thought that social media facilitate new friendships, but about 72% of them thought that social media isolate people more.
Image Description | Video: interview of young people about their online practices, and two charts showing statistics about online practices.
Image Tags | chart, computer/laptop, female(s), male(s), smartphone

'La web conecta y a la vez separa'

('The Web connects and disconnects at the same time')

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Newspaper | El Mundo
Date | 30.4.2014
Language | Spanish
Country | Spain
Topic Tags | (mental) health, addiction, brain, research/study, smartphone, texting
Summary | Two experts debate about digital technologies and their impact on our lives. The internet is changing our society; some people think that it is making us more stupid and less connected, and some disagree. Both experts talk about the benefits of internet (e.g. collective intelligence, medical information online) and the risks (e.g. lack of privacy, digital divide). They both disagree with people such as Nicholas Carr who think internet is making us dumb and superficial. Hey may be exaggerating, but one expert agrees with the fact that people don't pay as much attention to what they're doing because they're always on their screens. They may be losing a few skills (e.g. reading texts with full attention, and having deep conversations). Internet and new technologies are changing our brain; for instance, they have an impact on memory. We don't have to remember as many things as before. Both experts also talk about the future of paper and books, and relationships.
Image Description | Video of the interview with the experts.
Image Tags | male(s)

El 21% de los jóvenes está en riesgo de ser adicto a las nuevas tecnologías

(21% of young people are at risk of becoming addicted to new technologies)

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Newspaper | El País
Date | 3.7.2015
Language | Spanish
Country | Spain
Topic Tags | (mental) health, addiction, research/study, smartphone, threat, youth
Summary | A lot of young people are addicted to their phones; although they might not know they are addicted, they spend most of their time glued to their phone. Beatriz Valera is 19 and is addicted. She used to spend her days alone on her computer and smartphone. She would only spend time with people online. A psychologist expert in addictions claims that the need to be part of a social group makes people addicted to the digital world. Techno-addicts need to learn how to use their digital devices and how to control themselves. To help them, experts also suggest giving them the same advice as they would give drug addicts. Most of the techno-addicts are between 14 and 30 years old.
Image Description | Photograph of a girl holding a phone that is hiding her face.
Image Tags | female(s), smartphone

Los ‘smartphones’ no van a volver idiotas a tus hijos

(Smartphones are not going to make your kids dumb)

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Newspaper | El País
Date | 8.6.2016
Language | Spanish
Country | Spain
Topic Tags | (mental) health, addiction, childhood, research/study, smartphone, threat
Summary | Although it is hard to measure the impact of new media use on the brain, recent studies show that an appropriate use of screens can encourage learning skills. However, some studies show that a frequent use of screens for children under 5 may harm their developing brain. New technologies are always received with some apprehension; for instance, Socrates warned people that writing would be harmful for cognitive abilities such as memory. Although we don't know exactly what the consequences of an extended use of screens are, children under 2 should not be using any screen. A Professor at Harvard claims that although it might not be good for young children to use screens, they are not going to be dumb if they use them. Also, many experts agree with the fact that a passive use of screens (TV, tablets, etc.) is negative for a child's development. Children under 3 need a good balance of activities.
Image Description | Video of different children using tablets, and photograph of an adult and a child in front of a TV screen.
Image Tags | game, school, tablet, TV

CALLING ALL PARENTS Being glued to your smartphone is putting your children’s lives in danger

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Newspaper | The Sun
Date | 6.6.2016
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | addiction, childhood, research/study, smartphone, threat
Summary | A new study showed that parents who are addicted to their phones are putting their children's life in danger. Parents are distracted by their phone while they should be looking after their child. Adults should turn off their phones when they are with their children; it can save their kids' lives in certain situations.
Image Description | Series of two photograph: young mom with 2 toddlers on a swing; she is talking on the phone while looking at her tablet, and another young mom on her phone while looking at her tablet; she is pushing a stroller. Video of a mother who does not like the negative effects of social media on her kids; she uses a gun to shoot her kids' smartphones.
Image Tags | female(s), smartphone, tablet

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