Digital Discourse Database

Number of Posts: 50
Posts 21 - 30

Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation?

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Newspaper | The Atlantic
Date | 0.9.2017
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | (mental) health, addiction, cyberbullying, gender, smartphone, social media, threat, youth
Summary | A US study has conducted a large survey among teenagers and found out that smartphones are impacting their lives significantly. They sleep less, go out less, date less, are less likely to get (someone) pregnant, feel left out more, have more mental health issues, etc. Especially girls are more likely to feel left out because they spend more time on social media and because girls tend to bully each other by ostracization which is very easily achievable in cyberspace. Also, the teenage suicide rate has surpassed the teenage homicide rate for the first time in history.
Image Description | Two illustrations showing a woman falling with a tablet and a woman lying in bed at night looking at her smartphone. Charts showing the results from the US survey.
Image Tags | chart, female(s), smartphone, tablet

Can a GIF Work Better Than Words?

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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

5 Ways Parents Can Help Prevent Cyberbullying

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Newspaper | Huffington Post
Date | 11.4.2017
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | childhood, cyberbullying, social media, threat, youth
Summary | Cyberbullying, i.e. when people are bullied textually or with images over a digital platform, can be detrimental to teenagers' psyche. Especially since they are always available for notifications on their smartphones and because these digital tracks never disappear. It is important that parents keep an open line of communication with their children about this issue.
Image Description | Image of two girls holding a smartphone and looking shocked.
Image Tags | female(s), smartphone

That time when ‘that time when’ took over the Internet #InstantNostalgia

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Newspaper | Washington Post
Date | 15.9.2016
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | hashtags, research/study, social media
Summary | It has become customary to frame anecdotal posts on social media with the phrase "that time when" or "that akward moment when". Sometimes it is even used to describe events that have just happened, even though it is a formulation that suggests an old memory. This linguistic strategy thereby creates an air of nostalgia around the memory and makes it iconic. Linguists suggest that the usage of the demonstrative "that" suggests that sender and receiver of the message have shared memories. This is why many celebrities use this construction to create a false sense of intimacy with their fans online.
Image Description | GIF of a woman taking a selfie and posting it to social media.
Image Tags | female(s), gifs, smartphone, social media

The Complicated, Distressing Relationship Teens Have With The News

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Newspaper | Huffington Post
Date | 8.3.2017
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | misunderstanding, research/study, youth
Summary | Most youths get their news from their family, through the news media their parents consume, or through social media. The majority does not visit traditional news channels on their own initiative. Studies have shown that many youths cannot tell sponsored from editorial content. They are increasingly skeptical of news reports and at the same time unable to differentiate fake news or set valid news into a meaningful context.
Image Description | Silhouette of a person using a smartphone.
Image Tags | smartphone

In China, live-streaming apps soothe lonely souls and create fortunes

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Newspaper | Los Angeles Times
Date | 5.1.2017
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | threat, video communication
Summary | Many Chinese people are making a living off of livestreaming their daily lives. They share their thoughts with huge audiences on apps that allow for live streaming or just show themselves while eating their meals or respond to comments or give advice. One of the most successful of these personalities is a China-based American who reports of her experience in China from the perspective of an American. Despite great efforts by the Chinese government to censor internet content, this new entertainment genre is growing quickly in China.
Image Description | Female Chinese livestream personalities.
Image Tags | female(s), selfie, smartphone

In Race Against Fake News, Google and Facebook Stroll to the Starting Line

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Newspaper | New York Magazine
Date | 25.1.2017
Language | German
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | Facebook, fake news, Google, politics, threat
Summary | Google and Facebook are beginning to respond to the wide criticism that they do nothing to combat fake news on their platforms. Critics blame the uncontested spread of fake news for the voting of Donald Trump. Facebook and Google are now trying to block new providers on their platforms that spread misleading content but critics doubt that these measures are very effective.
Image Description | Getty image of a Google cafeteria.
Image Tags | Google, male(s), smartphone

Twitter says it's cracking down on abuse (again)

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Newspaper | USA Today
Date | 7.2.2017
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | cyberbullying, politeness, threat, Twitter
Summary | Twitter has been struggling with trolls, racists, and sexists since its advent but now a new motivation has presented itself. When investors such as Disney pull back their offers, Twitter headquarters begin to seriously look into the matter again. Twitter did very little to combat users who are only on Twitter to insult other users - they can be suspended but it is impossible to keep them from creating another anonymous account. For now, users can choose to mute certain words, posts, or threads so that they don't receive notifications for hateful content.
Image Description | Photograph of a hand-held smartphone showing the Twitter icon.
Image Tags | hand(s), smartphone, Twitter

Snapchat Discover Takes a Hard Line on Misleading and Explicit Images

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Newspaper | The New York Times
Date | 23.1.2017
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | Snapchat, threat, youth
Summary | Snapchat is making greater ethical demands to news publishers on the Discover page. News media posting on Snapchat's Discover page are asked to only post material that is fact-checked and objective and to refrain from using sexually explicit or violent images that are not newsworthy for shock value. In response to a complaint about minors being exposed to inapproriate material on Snapchat, Snapchat ask media outlets who publish on their platform to put age-restrictions on their posts so that mature content is only seen by people who have signed up as adults on Snapchat.
Image Description | Screenshot of the Snapchat Discover page.
Image Tags | smartphone, Snapchat

Snapchat's new rules for media

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Newspaper | Los Angeles Times
Date | 24.1.2017
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | Snapchat, threat, youth
Summary | One concerned mother is sueing Snapchat into reglementing media content on their Discover page so that minors do not see posts that are not age-appropriate for them. Many news media outlets that post on Snapchat's Discover page for large sums of advertising revenue use clickbait strategies involving overly sexual or violent content. The plaintiff wants Snapchat to shield minors from such content.
Image Description | Black and white image of a man doing a phonecall and looking at a Snapchat icon on a shop window.
Image Tags | male(s), smartphone, Snapchat

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