Number of Posts: 9
Posts 1 - 9
Can a GIF Work Better Than Words?
Newspaper | The New York Times
Date | 21.9.2015
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | emojis, GIFs, language threat, word/writing
Summary | An interviewee claims that using GIFs allows her to express complex feelings and emotions in a a couple seconds. GIFs are becoming more and more popular (i.e. on Facebook, Tumblr, etc.). Words and emojis are becoming old-fashioned.
Image Description | GIF representing three men looking at their smartphone.
Image Tags | gifs, male(s), smartphone
Learn to speak EMOJI: Translator app turns everything you say into popular symbols
Newspaper | Mail Online
Date | 17.12.2015
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | emojis, translation, youth
Summary | Words do not always express the exact feeling people want to transmit, so emojis can help. Thanks to a new app (SpeakEmoji), you can now translate what you want to say (voice) into emojis. Emojis are a new universal language, so this new app is suited for our digital era. The app was first designed to help parents communicate through emojis. In 2015, an emoji was chosen as word of the year because it represented the mood and preocuppations of the year.
Image Description | Screenshots of the SpeakEmoji app, video of the new translator app, and video of how to use emojis in social media
Image Tags | emojis, male(s), social media
What’s the big deal about sexting?
Newspaper | CNN
Date | 2.1.2015
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | law, sexting, threat, youth
Summary | Sexting is not as threatening as everyone thinks - it is developmentally appropriate for teenagers to be exploring their sexuality with all channels available to them. In most cases, sexting is unproblematic except when nude images are shared (this has even resulted in suicides of the victims) or minors are prosecuted for distributing child pornography by sexting (though laws are being adjusted to exclude sexting). But even if it is just consensual sexting among peers, our society tends to overreact about any expression of sexual identity of minors but we condone oversexualized imagery of girls in the media (glossy magazines/animated films).
Image Description | Shutterstock of a male torso using a smartphone.
Image Tags | male(s), smartphone
7 Workplace Chat Apps to Keep Your Team in Sync
Newspaper | Huffington Post
Date | 26.1.2015
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | Facebook, social media
Summary | There are various new apps that facilitate professional communication between colleagues in the same office building but also in international companies with offices all over the world. Facebook has launched a new version of its social media platform called 'Facebook for Work' and it is supposed to combat employees using Facebook for procrastination/personal purposes at work and rather using the many communication options Facebook offers for efficient communication within the work team. Google Apps are also very convenient because they are available on all devices and have a huge array of functions. Other apps are Slack, Voxer, Instantbird, Yammer, and Pie.
Image Description | Photograph of a work conference showing gender and race diversity as well as smiling employees.
Image Tags | computer/laptop, female(s), male(s)
Dumbing Down the Phone for Children
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
The Resistance
Newspaper | Washington Post
Date | 27.12.2015
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | (mental) health, addiction, smartphone, threat
Summary | The rapid development of new media has many people worrying about the 'end of the human era' especially with advancements in the development of artificial intelligence. We are constantly connected with our smartphones and are hardly ever 'in the moment'. Driving and texting is illegal but it still causes many accidents. The EU are passing a law for "the right to be forgotten" forcing search engines to suppress ambarrassing content from an individual's past. Many people are worried about government and other surveillance, leading them to use encrypted instant messaging services and cover up their webcams with duct tape. A resistance is developing lead by techno-skeptics.
Image Description | Portraits of individuals mentioned in the article: Astra Taylor & Jaron Lanier.
Image Tags | female(s), male(s)
Oculus VR: ‘Classrooms are broken. Kids don’t learn the best by reading books’
Newspaper | The Guardian
Date | 3.11.2015
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | smartphone, virtual reality
Summary | Palmer Luckey thinks that virtual reality is going to be ubiquitous in the next decades, which is a good thing according to him. Not everyone can afford to travel to Washington D.C. or Paris, but virtual reality will give people the opportunity to experience things such as long trips overseas. Luckey also thinks that virtual reality will replace smartphones; we won't need them anymore. With virtual reality, we'll be able to experience physical intimacy with people far away, for instance. It will the change our relationships.
Image Description | Photograph of Palmer Luckey, and video of his talk.
Image Tags | male(s)
Emoji is named as Oxford Dictionaries Word of the Year
Newspaper | Mirror
Date | 17.11.2015
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | emojis, word/writing
Summary | The "face with tears of joy" emoji was named word of the joy by the Oxford Dictionary. Emojis are symbols of today's culture and communication, and are replacing traditional forms of communication. There is nowadays a focus on visual communication. Emojis are a new form of communication that allow people to express their emotions, and to go beyond linguistic barriers.
Image Description | Digital image of the "face with tears of joy" emoji, and photograph of a man reading the Oxford Dictionary of English.
Image Tags | dictionary, emojis, male(s)
Stop Your 'Dying,' It's Killing Me
Newspaper | The New York Times
Date | 29.11.2015
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | texting, youth
Summary | Digital writing culture, be it texting or posting on social media, has developed a widespread obsession with grotesque exaggerations. An example would be the fading popularity of LOL while statements such as “I’m literally dying” have become commonplace to express hilarity. Other staples for expressing strong feelings towards something in texting are “feels”, “YAAASS”, or “I can’t even” among many others. Although hyperbole has a long history as a stylistic device, contemporary online culture seems to have reached new levels.
Image Description | Illustration of a skeleton sitting in a coffin and taking a selfie.
Image Tags | male(s), selfie
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