Digital Discourse Database

Number of Posts: 2
Posts 1 - 2

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

The Resistance

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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)

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