Digital Discourse Database

Number of Posts: 4
Posts 1 - 4

What’s the big deal about sexting?

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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

Studenten können nicht mehr richtig schreiben

(Students cannot write properly anymore)

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Newspaper | 20 Minuten
Date | 21.1.2015
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | language threat, school, spelling, texting, youth
Summary | Students' writing skills are poorer than in previous years. It may be due to the fact that elementary schools no longer correct every spelling mistake in first and second grade but rather value content over form. Another reason that can explain students' lower writing skills is new media use. Most of young people's writing and reading is done through new media nowadays, and informal writing is prevalent in those digital spheres. The increasing informalization of language on social media is seen as a threat to our language.
Image Description | Photograph taken from behind of an elementary classroom with children.
Image Tags | female(s), male(s), school

Schüler ärgern sich über offizielles Handyverbot

(Students are upset about official mobile phone prohibition)

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Newspaper | 20 Minuten
Date | 14.8.2015
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | school, smartphone, technology-free
Summary | Several schools in Switzerland have prohibited the use of mobile phones inside their buildings. Educators would like the students to interact with each other face-to-face rather than stare at their smartphones. Students are very upset, and media experts claim that schools need to adapt to changing times and teach a pragmatic use of new media.
Image Description | Photograph of a school playground where young people/students are walking.
Image Tags | female(s), male(s), school

Sklaven des Smartphones

(Slaves to smartphones)

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Newspaper | Tages-Anzeiger
Date | 5.3.2015
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | school, smartphone, threat
Summary | Japan and South Korea – both highly digitized nations – experience the negative effects of omnipresent internet access. The article infers that conversations have become a rarity because smartphones and the need to update social media profiles distract people. A South Korean literature scholar states that students hardly read books anymore; therefore, government incentives for reading have been established. The article even predicts a return to analphebetization in these nations.
Image Description | Photograph of a young man's face half-hidden by his iPhone.
Image Tags | male(s), smartphone

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