Digital Discourse Database

Number of Posts: 64
Posts 41 - 50

Ce qui se passe quand on se dispute via WhatsApp

(What happens when we fight on WhatsApp)

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Newspaper | 20 minutes
Date | 7.9.2016
Language | French
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | privacy, youth
Summary | It might be better for young people not to talk about private issues via text messages. A counselor explains that online conversations and face-to-face conversations are similar for young people. If they have "talked" to someone, it usually means they had a digital or online exchange. However, to resolve personal issues, online conversations are not the best medium; they might even worsen the situation. The counselor's suggestion would be to write a letter. Finally, the image that people have of young people (connected and isolated) is not necessarily true.
Image Description | Series of 7 photographs portraying young people on a digital device (smartphone, tablet).
Image Tags | female(s), male(s), smartphone, tablet

Des écoles banissent le portable des préaux

(Schools prohibit cell phones on their playgrounds)

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Newspaper | 20 minutes
Date | 12.9.2016
Language | French
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | school, smartphone, technology-free, threat, youth
Summary | Several schools in Switzerland have prohibited the use of smartphones during recess. Students do not learn as well as before, and interactions in the classrooms are not as good. Other people don't agree with this new rule. Schools need to accept the fact that everyone owns a smartphone nowadays. People communicate, which is a huge advantage of smartphones. Also, students should be able to be "free" during recess. They might want to be alone, and this is okay. Finally, a school principal thinks that prohibiting smartphones during recess is better for students; smartphones hinder the development of intercommunication.
Image Description | Photograph of a group of young male teenagers smiling and looking at their smartphones.
Image Tags | male(s), smartphone

Blaue Häkchen vergiften die Liebe

(Blue ticks are poisoning love)

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Newspaper | Der Bund
Date | 7.11.2014
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | misunderstanding, WhatsApp
Summary | WhatsApp programmers may have thought that they would improve communication by introducing a ‘message read’ notification in the form of two blue ticks. This new feature however is making room for much more confusion and misunderstandings. If a person reads a message and does not respond instantly, the other person might think it is because they are sulking, for instance. This is why users should discuss matters of the heart face to face and just share trivial things such as shopping lists via WhatsApp – to avoid misunderstandings of non-verbal cues.
Image Description | Screenshot of a tweet representing a scene of Breakfast at Tiffany's. George Peppard's message "I love you" is well received by Audrey Hepburn (two blue ticks).
Image Tags | female(s), male(s)

Statt Whatsapp bitte wieder den Telefonalarm

(Instead of WhatsApp please bring back the telephone chain)

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Newspaper | Der Bund
Date | 1.3.2016
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | WhatsApp
Summary | WhatsApp group chats are convenient to spread messages quickly. The only problem is that all members can contribute to a WhatsApp chat, and if everybody responds to an announcement, these group chats can get very annoying because one gets notified of everyone's contribution.
Image Description | Photograph of an adult male looking at his smartphone.
Image Tags | male(s), smartphone

Schreiben statt streicheln: Die neue kalte Liebesordnung

(Writing instead of stroking: The new cold order of love)

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Newspaper | Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ)
Date | 20.6.2014
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | Facebook, smartphone, threat, WhatsApp, youth
Summary | Youth nowadays do not get to know their love interests face-to-face but rather through digital channels. A typical digital encounter would be a Facebook friend request, message exchanges and possibly the exchange of seductive images. Now intimacy means something different; people open up to each other in letter form rather than with actual physical contact. Cultural pessimists fear that while it is convenient that all of our interactions can be done online, this convenience may turn into a huge problem because people could virtually stay at home all the time and become lonely.
Image Description | Photograph in back and white of a couple (male and female), sleeping entwined.
Image Tags | female(s), male(s)

Jugend "Meine Jungs sind so passiv"

(Youth "My boys are so passive")

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Newspaper | Beobachter
Date | 22.8.2014
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | childhood, smartphone, threat, youth
Summary | A mother is worried that her sons are too passive, always hanging around with their smartphones instead of getting active in sports clubs or other social clubs. Experts advise parents not to worry as long as children sleep enough, keep their grades up in school, and keep a few social contacts. The younger generation lives in a different world of endless possibilities and of the fear of committing to one and failing.
Image Description | Photograph of two young boys playing on a tablet. Photograph of two young boys playing on a tablet.
Image Tags | male(s), tablet

Es hat wieder gepiepst

(It beeped again)

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Newspaper | Tages-Anzeiger
Date | 22.7.2016
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | smartphone, threat
Summary | Our constant availability via smartphone makes us less aware of our physical surroundings. The fact that personal messages as well as news reach us at all times, whether we are ready for them or not, makes our perception of the world even more influenced push notifications. Despite the fact that we are now living in the safest of times, historically speaking, we feel more threatened because of countless graphic reports of terrorist attacks.
Image Description | Photograph in black and white of the author of the article.
Image Tags | male(s)

Smileys sind die Heuschrecken der Neuzeit

(Smileys are the locusts of modern age)

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Newspaper | Sonntagszeitung
Date | 25.5.2014
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | emojis
Summary | Emoticons are everywhere: in messages, statuses, and emails. They are supposed to indicate emotions and add nuance when something is funny or sarcastic. Humorous texts should need a flag to alert readers of their jocular intent. Communicating emotions through emojis shows either an inability to communicate complex feelings in writing or unwillingness thereof.
Image Description | Illustration of the author of the article.
Image Tags | male(s)

Rédigez des mails pour être lu

(Write emails to be read)

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Newspaper | 24 heures
Date | 27.11.2014
Language | French
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | email, spelling, texting
Summary | Emails are very important, especially in a professional setting. Thus, it is important to follow certain rules. For example, abbreviations and spelling mistakes should not be permitted. Moreover, emails should be clear, precise, and to the point. People should leave emoticons for personal messages.
Image Description | Photograph of the author of the article.
Image Tags | male(s)

Junge schreiben - mehr als je zuvor

(Young people write – more than ever)

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Newspaper | St. Galler Tagblatt
Date | 29.1.2016
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | language threat, smartphone, texting, word/writing, youth
Summary | Ever since the Swiss youth did poorly in the PISA survey of 2000, critics have been blaming new technologies for deteriorating young people's linguistic skills. English literature lecturer Mario Andreotti however outlines that today's teens write more than previous generations, albeit less formally, because they use their phones to write rather than talk. Because texting does not follow the rigid formal rules of writing but rather is just spoken discourse written down, some experts assume that these relaxed writing habits may worsen students’ writing skills in general.
Image Description | Photograph of three teenagers who are not interacting: two of them are looking at their phones.
Image Tags | male(s), smartphone

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