Digital Discourse Database

Number of Posts: 77
Posts 61 - 70

Letter of Recommendation: Instagram Explore

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Newspaper | New York Magazine
Date | 5.1.2017
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | Instagram, social media
Summary | As consumers of the internet, we are used to being subjected to algorithms calculating what we might be interested in and feeding it back to us. The algorithm on the Instagram Explore page is however is very difficult to decipher because it suggests things that seem unlikely but somehow it still works: users are often surprised by how they like something that they never would have expected. The Instagram world nurtures a society of narcissists and excentrics who are apt at expressing themselves. For the first time, one persons guilty pleasure or secret hobby can be put online and receive a global applause in form of emojis and messages in various languages.
Image Description | Collage of artsy trompe l'oeil eye makeup by Instagrammer Gulianna Maria Bosco.
Image Tags | female(s)

Muttis Welt

(Mommy’s world)

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Newspaper | Sonntagszeitung
Date | 28.8.2016
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | emojis, social media
Summary | Three women from Boston developed an app with 250 new emojis all depicting various aspects of parenthood and especially motherhood. The emojis address taboo topics of childcare and pregnancy such as being in labor, baby’s spit-up, and milk-pumping. Many parents however overshare these personal experiences on social media; a phenomenon previously named ‘sharenting’.
Image Description | Digital image representing three pregnant women emojis.
Image Tags | emojis, female(s)

Los ancianos prefieren WhatsApp y Facebook y detestan los selfis

(Seniors prefer WhatsApp and Facebook and hate selfies)

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Newspaper | 20 minutos
Date | 28.5.2015
Language | Spanish
Country | Spain
Topic Tags | childhood, Facebook, research/study, selfie, social media, WhatsApp, youth
Summary | According to a study, seniors (64+) prefer using WhatsApp and Facebook because they can connect with their grandchildren. Also, using new media make them feel young and modern. With social media, seniors feel active and integrated. However, they don't choose social media to have more relationships; most of them already are very social offline. They like WhatsApp a lot because they can create groups (family, friends, etc.) and keep in touch with everyone. They also like the fact they can stay in touch with their grandchildren and share pictures with them. Seniors like to communicate using memes, videos, and images; it is actually more difficult for them to write.
Image Description | Photograph of a male senior and a female child looking at a family album.
Image Tags | female(s), male(s)

Los jóvenes se sienten incompletos sin internet y las redes sociales

(Young people feel incomplete without internet and social media)

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Newspaper | El Mundo
Date | 9.4.2014
Language | Spanish
Country | Spain
Topic Tags | addiction, research/study, smartphone, social media, threat, youth
Summary | A lot of young people wouldn't be able to live without new technologies (internet, social media, etc.). According to a study, they feel isolated and incomplete without them, and they wouldn't know how to socialize. Young people are aware of the advantages of internet and social media (e.g. possibility to have many relationships) as well as the risks of such new technologies (e.g. loss of privacy). They also know they can become dependent on their digital devices. However, they are not so worried; they think such disadvantages are normal and part of today's society. The survey also showed contradictory results; 74% of the respondents thought that social media facilitate new friendships, but about 72% of them thought that social media isolate people more.
Image Description | Video: interview of young people about their online practices, and two charts showing statistics about online practices.
Image Tags | chart, computer/laptop, female(s), male(s), smartphone

7 Workplace Chat Apps to Keep Your Team in Sync

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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)

La letra, con ‘smartphone’, entra

(The letter enters with smartphone (pun with "la letra con sangre entra"))

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Newspaper | El País
Date | 27.10.2014
Language | Spanish
Country | Spain
Topic Tags | grammar, research/study, social media, spelling, texting, threat, youth
Summary | Spelling and grammar are having a hard time in today's society; there seems to be too much lenience with regards to writing rules, which may be due to an incorrect use of new technologies. People should know when it is appropriate to use a specific register. It is okay to write a text message with abbreviations as long as users are able to change register and adapt their writing in an exam for example. A professor in Valladolid claims that handwriting as opposed to digital writing can be the solution to spelling and grammar mistakes. Social media and the way we write on those networks have a major impact on our writing skills. A study showed that the mistakes young people make in their writing assignments come from our habit to constantly write quickly and be spontaneous on social media. Those mistakes are mostly due to a lack of attention. The study also showed a positive aspect: with social media, we write more.
Image Description | Photograph of a group of four young people using their smartphone.
Image Tags | female(s), hand(s), male(s), smartphone

‘We’ve grown up with some frightening events’: UK teenagers' hopes and fears

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Newspaper | The Guardian
Date | 19.3.2016
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | addiction, smartphone, social media, youth
Summary | Five teenagers and young adults talk about the society they live in (jobs, school, alcohol, social media, etc.). They blame social media for being a waste of time and for favoring bullying. Moreover, social media are responsible for spreading certain norms that young people are expected to follow (e.g. ideals of beauty for men and women). One teenage girl claims that social media make people competitive. Even though she agrees that smartphones are addictive, it would be hard for her to live without it because she wouldn't want to miss out on things.
Image Description | Series of six photographs: two teenage girls on their smartphone are sitting back to back, and portraits of the five interviewees.
Image Tags | female(s), male(s), smartphone

It may be shallow and salacious, but don’t blame Tinder for online misogyny

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Newspaper | The Guardian
Date | 8.4.2016
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | gender, online dating, research/study, social media, threat
Summary | A new study revealed that the dating app Tinder spreads sexism and ideals of beauty; however, according to the author of the article, such behavior is not new. The media tends to portray new technologies and new apps as responsible for numerous societal ills, thus being dangerous. This new research follows a similar discourse while blaming the dating app Tinder of misogyny. However, sexism and beauty standards also existed before the age of social media. Thus, sexist comments are not the result of new technologies/apps; they go well beyond our digital devices.
Image Description | Photograph of a smartphone with the Tinder app open; we can see parts of a woman's face and a big LIKE in green.
Image Tags | female(s), smartphone, Tinder

'Everyone could know what I was doing': the millennials not using social media

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Newspaper | The Guardian
Date | 17.3.2016
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | smartphone, social media, technology-free, youth
Summary | The majority of millenials are active on social media; those who are not explain why they decided not to have a social media account. Although the young interviewees admit that social network sites are useful to stay in touch with people far away and to organize parties and other events, they also think that they can be detrimental. For example, some of the interviewees feel uncomfortable with the fact that people share intimate details about their lives online, and with the fact that everyone knows everything about other people. Also, some people think that it is a waste of time and that it is useless.
Image Description | Series of five photographs representing the interviewees.
Image Tags | female(s), male(s)

Can Texting Fill an Empty Nest?

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Newspaper | The New York Times
Date | 17.9.2016
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | Facebook, social media, texting, youth
Summary | Many parents find themselves very lonely when their children leave the nest for college. New media have enabled parents to stay in touch with their children conveniently and cost-efficiently. Many parents report to text their children at college multiple times a day. Other parents use social media to keep an eye on the activities of their sons and daughters. The youths are split on which way of communicating with their parents they prefer – some would never want their parents to follow them on social media while others appreciate the low maintenance in just keeping parents updated like that.
Image Description | Illustration of a woman sitting in a youth’s rather empty bedroom.
Image Tags | female(s)

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