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

The Rise and Fall of Yik Yak, the Anonymous Messaging App

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Newspaper | The New York Times
Date | 27.5.2017
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | childhood, cyberbullying, law, privacy, social media, threat, youth
Summary | The anonymous messaging app Yik Yak became very popular in colleges and schools because it lets people broadcast anonymously to other users near them. The activity on the app has however started to become thretening with college students and children bullying each other and people making bomb threats that have led to multiple evacuations. A feminist group from University of Mary Washington have filed complaint to the University to block Yik Yak on campus because it has been used to harrass and threaten members.
Image Description | An illustration with a face and a smartphone and an image of the creators of Yik Yak.
Image Tags | male(s), smartphone

Should I befriend my children and their pals online?

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Newspaper | Telegraph
Date | 10.6.2017
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | childhood, privacy, social media, threat, youth
Summary | 80% of children between 11 and 15 years old have a smartphone. They spend a lot of time on social media platforms. Social media have a lot of advantages but they can also lead to social exclusion and embarrassment. According to a study, Instagram and Snapchat are the worst platforms for teenagers and young adults. As a result, some parents want to join the same social media sites and befriend their children so they can keep an eye on them. However, this might not be the right solution. Children and parents have a right to privacy.
Image Description | Photograph of a woman (foreground) and two children on their phone (background), a kid using and looking at a screen,
Image Tags | female(s), male(s), smartphone, tablet

'They're collaborating all the time': the schools making the most of mobile

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Newspaper | The Guardian
Date | 13.1.2017
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | childhood, digitized education, school, smartphone, youth
Summary | Some schools are embracing the technological advancements influencing our everyday lives by incorporating them into their classes. Some classes have even become entirely paper-free! Not all, however, the learning tools are chosen so as to to help maximize students' learning. Students are already familiar and comfortable with most of the technology and it makes no sense to ban smartphones from classrooms if they can enhance learning.
Image Description | Two girls looking at a smartphone together.
Image Tags | female(s), school, smartphone

Sexting: A language our children must never learn

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Newspaper | Daily Telegraph
Date | 20.4.2017
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | abbreviations, childhood, sexting, technology-free, threat, youth
Summary | Youths are using abbreviations to keep their parents out of the loop like LMIRL (let's meet in real life). The police have published a list of these to help parents monitor their children. It is sad that children and teenagers have such low self-esteem that they do anything to receive validation from their digital peers. This is not just youth culture or rap music's fault but rather the parent's fault. They are always busy and spend too much time on their smartphone rather than gracing their children with face-to-face attention and smartphone-free activities.
Image Description | Getty image of a teenage boy smirking at a smartphone.
Image Tags | male(s), smartphone

5 Ways Parents Can Help Prevent Cyberbullying

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Newspaper | Huffington Post
Date | 11.4.2017
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | childhood, cyberbullying, social media, threat, youth
Summary | Cyberbullying, i.e. when people are bullied textually or with images over a digital platform, can be detrimental to teenagers' psyche. Especially since they are always available for notifications on their smartphones and because these digital tracks never disappear. It is important that parents keep an open line of communication with their children about this issue.
Image Description | Image of two girls holding a smartphone and looking shocked.
Image Tags | female(s), smartphone

Ärger mit vermeintlich kostenfreien Apps

(Trouble with supposedly free apps)

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Newspaper | Bergische Morgenpost
Date | 15.3.2017
Language | German
Country | Germany
Topic Tags | addiction, childhood, game, youth
Summary | Parents need to be warned about the hidden costs of supposedly free games. They are hugely popular among children and youths and free at first, like drugs where the first dose is often free, and then they get very expensive very quickly. Experts discourage parents from sharing their credit card information with their children. Addiction experts also advise parents to set up rules of smartphone usage with their children and enforce them - that is the only way how we can keep ourselves from getting addicted to our smartphones in a world of constant availability: by setting the limits ourselves.
Image Description | Pixabay photograph of a woman holding a smartphone.
Image Tags | female(s), hand(s), smartphone

Dumbing Down the Phone for Children

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Newspaper | The New York Times
Date | 12.12.2015
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | childhood, smartphone, threat, youth
Summary | Parents all face the problem of their children wishing for smartphones for christmas at some point. Often, parents feel that point arrives too early. There are some possibilities to ease children into new media use, by getting a "dumbphone" for instance which has no internet access. Even smartphones have settings for parental control where curfews can be set when the child/teenager is supposed to sleep and not be able to use the smartphone or to block social media or in-app purchases. It is irresponsible to give young children/teenagers full use of a smartphone but one should give them access to the digital sphere in steps, just as one does not start teaching a child how to cook by handing it all the sharp knives.
Image Description | Photograph of a family in front of christmas tree gathered around a smartphone.
Image Tags | female(s), male(s), smartphone

Texting and talking is ok for adults, but don't tweet from the table: Study reveals mealtime phone etiquette

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Newspaper | Mail Online
Date | 10.5.2016
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | childhood, research/study, youth
Summary | A new study revealed some interesting results regarding the proper use of smartphones at the dinner table. Not all phone activities are perceived the same way; for instance, it is okay for parents to make a quick phone call or text during mealtime, but they should not tweet or post anything online. Also, an adult's use of smartphone at the dinner table is viewed as more appropriate as a child's. As a result, what is considered appropriate depends on who is present at the dinner table and what phone activity they're engaged in. The strongest predictor of appropriate use is actually people's own use of digital devices.
Image Description | Series of two photographs: the first one represents a family at the dinner table, with the mother on the phone, the father using the remote control, and both children texting. The second one represents a father and his son at the table; they are both using their phones. Series of two charts showing the details of the study.
Image Tags | chart, smartphone, text

BTDTGTTSAWIO – das FBI erklärt Slang

(BTDTGTTSAWIO – the FBI explains slang)

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Newspaper | Der Bund
Date | 19.6.2014
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | abbreviations, childhood, texting, youth
Summary | The FBI has published a list of social media/messaging app abbreviations which helps them in their hunt for criminals and which could help the broader public to keep an eye on their children. Some of these abbreviations are: SOMSW (someone over my shoulder watching), NIFOC (naked in front of computer), and BTDTGTTSAWIO (been there, done that, got the t-shirt and wore it out). The FBI’s publication has been criticized for being irrelevant because these abbreviations are rarely used.
Image Description | Photograph of a hand holding a smartphone and texting. Photograph of a hand holding a smartphone and texting.
Image Tags | hand(s), smartphone, text

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