Digital Discourse Database

Number of Posts: 8
Posts 1 - 8

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

Quand l'usage du smartphone risque de virer à l'addiction

(When the use of smartphone can lead to addiction)

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Newspaper | Les Echos
Date | 8.2.2017
Language | French
Country | France
Topic Tags | (mental) health, addiction, smartphone, technology-free, threat
Summary | A third of young people between 18 and 24 claim that they look at their phone more than 50 times a day. People are more and more addicted to their smartphone, and we should be worried about that. The "Days without smartphones" were created 16 years ago because of this new trend. 41% of French people state that they look at their smartphone in the middle of the night, and 81% say that they use their smartphone while having a meal with friends or family. People are anxious if they don't have their phone. We talk about nomophobia to characterize this new health problem.
Image Description | Photograph of three young people looking at their phone and smiling
Image Tags | female(s), male(s), smartphone

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

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)

"I worried people would forget me": can teenagers survive without social media?

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Newspaper | The Guardian
Date | 18.6.2016
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | (mental) health, addiction, smartphone, social media, technology-free, youth
Summary | Interview with several teenagers or "digital natives" that had to talk about their experience of living without social media for a few days. Were they able to do it? Teenagers spend a lot of time online everyday and are almost addicted to their digital devices; they often sleep with their smartphone. The experience was well received; the participants said that it was a positive experience (they felt happier, more productive, and slept better). Some were able to live without their phone for a couple days and some for a couple weeks. However, they wouldn't be able to do it longer. They like being available all the time, and without a phone they felt that they were missing out on a lot of things, especially with their friends.
Image Description | Series of seven photographs portraying the young interviewees doing some sort of non-digital activities (sports, cooking, music etc.)
Image Tags | female(s), male(s)

Toujours plus accro aux smartphones

(More and more addicted to smartphones)

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Newspaper | Le Matin
Date | 3.12.2014
Language | French
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | (mental) health, addiction, smartphone, technology-free, threat
Summary | We carry our smartphone everywhere: bed, bathroom, work, train etc., which can render people addicted. Corine Kibora (spokeswoman at Addiction Switzerland) claims that people can be addicted to social media, news applications, emails etc. When a smartphone disturbs someone's eating, sleeping, or work habits, there is a problem. There can be health issues (eyes tired, sleep disorders) and social issues (personal relations and communication). Kibora suggests setting a schedule; no smartphone during dinner for example.
Image Description | Photograph of a man lying in bed with his smartphone in his hand.
Image Tags | male(s), smartphone

Der Mann zieht seine Nummer ab

(A man takes off his number)

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Newspaper | Sonntagszeitung
Date | 14.8.2016
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | (mental) health, addiction, research/study, smartphone, technology-free
Summary | A 29-year old man has decided to live without a cell phone because it causes anxiety and is not as necessary as everybody thinks. Recent studies have shown that many smartphone users can effectively be labeled as addicts because they check their phones more than 60 times a day. This obsession, paired with the fact that push notifications effect the release of dopamine, confirm the claim that smartphones increase anxiety.
Image Description | Photograph of the 29-year old man, crouching.
Image Tags | male(s)

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