Digital Discourse Database

Number of Posts: 6
Posts 1 - 6

Hilfe, wo sind meine Whatsapp-Freunde hin!

(Help, where did all of my WhatsApp friends go!)

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Newspaper | Der Bund
Date | 26.2.2014
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | Facebook, privacy, social media, WhatsApp
Summary | After Facebook has bought WhatsApp, many users are worried about their data privacy so waves of users are switching on to safer alternatives to WhatsApp such as Telegram, MyEnigma, or the Swiss app Threema. The large majority however is staying on WhatsApp, which causes more people to stay or return to WhatsApp. When Facebook replaced older social media platforms such as the German SchülerVZ, all users moved because a social media platform is only valuable when enough people use it.
Image Description | Photograph of a smartphone screen with social media different icons.
Image Tags | logo, smartphone, social media

It's time to stamp out sexting: Teens will be teens, but parents must be parents

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Newspaper | Pittsburgh Post Gazette
Date | 11.4.2014
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | privacy, sexting, threat, youth
Summary | Cases of teenage sexting keep sprouting up across the country. One cannot blame the youths because they are inexperienced and hormonal. They do not realize that creation, posession, and distribution of nude images of themselves or their peers constituted a child pornography felony with serious ramifications. Many sexts go viral nowadays, which makes sexual recklessness today much more dangerous. Some victimized teenagers have commited suicide. Parents must monitor their children's activities on their smartphones to protect them from themselves. They have all right to do so since they are paying for their cell phone plans.
Image Description | Illustration of a girl looking at her phone not seeing that she is about to jump off of a ledge.
Image Tags | female(s), smartphone

'Ripped from the cloud'; The celebrities whose images were stolen by hackers never meant to make them public and now have no control over their use.

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Newspaper | Montreal Gazette
Date | 8.9.2014
Language | English
Country | Canada
Topic Tags | pornography, privacy, sexting, threat, Twitter
Summary | Recently Apple's iCloud was hacked and nude photographs of many female celebrities (Jennifer Lawrence, Kirsten Dunst, ...) were publicly shared online. This attack on celebrity's personal privacy is compared to the Swiss scandal secretary who tweeted nude images of herself at her workplace. While the celebrity nude image leak is seen as vile abuse, the Swiss secretary's misfortune is seen as her own fault. It is naïve to expect to be able to keep a Twitter account with 11'000 followers secret from one's employer.
Image Description | Photograph of Steve Jobs presenting the new iCloud technology.

'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)

Jeder 7. Teenager arbeitet besser dank Multitasking

(Every seventh teenager works better thanks to multi-tasking)

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Newspaper | 20 Minuten
Date | 24.10.2014
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | brain, research/study
Summary | An American study shows that 85% of students cannot focus well when multitasking. The participants in the study were solving cognitive tests on a computer, listening to music, and checking their messages. Interestingly 15% of students focused better while multitasking and these 15% had previously been assessed as students with expert/experienced multitaskers. The researchers assume that it is because digital natives’ brains have adapted to new media.
Image Description | Photograph of a teenage girl using her phone; the shot does not show her face entirely but focuses on the phone.
Image Tags | female(s), hand(s), smartphone

Bis das Handy uns scheidet

(Till the cell phone do us part)

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Newspaper | Sonntagszeitung
Date | 14.12.2014
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | privacy, smartphone
Summary | Smartphones have opened up a variety of possibilities to cheat on one’s partner – physically as well as emotionally. Apps like Ashley Madison can connect people who would like to step outside their relationship. Sending flirtatious messages or nude images can feel like betraying one’s partner. Although smartphones make it easier for people to cheat anytime and anywhere, they also help people getting caught since online activities leave a digital trail. There are some apps that allow people to hide their digital activities and other apps that allow them to spy on digital activities.
Image Description | Illustration of Adam and Eve on their digital devices (smartphone and laptop).
Image Tags | computer/laptop, smartphone

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