Digital Discourse Database

Number of Posts: 23
Posts 11 - 20

Facebook 'makes users lonely and angry as they compare themselves to other people's seemingly perfect lives'

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Newspaper | Mirror
Date | 10.11.2015
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | Facebook, research/study, social media, threat
Summary | The Happiness Research Institute conducted a study about social media and the portrayal of users' seemingly perfect and beautiful lives. Users think that other people's lives are better, and they consequently feel sad and angry. In the study, the people who had to quit Facebook saw their happiness level rise, and those who had to continue using the social network didn't see any change. Facebook users seem to be lonely and angry because they constantly compare their life to others', but the seemingly perfect life that other users portray is fake. Although there are advantages in using Facebook, it is important to keep in mind that it also gives people a wrong perception of reality.
Image Description | Series of five photographs: teenage girl looking at her laptop, another teenage girl looking at the laptop, Facebook logo, photograph of Mark Zuckerberg with the dislike button, and another teenage girl with a phone in her hand, looking at her laptop.
Image Tags | computer/laptop, Facebook, female(s), smartphone

Want your texts to appear sincere? DON’T use punctuation: Researchers say full stops make messages appear less trustworthy

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Newspaper | Mail Online
Date | 8.12.2015
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | language threat, punctuation, research/study, spelling, texting
Summary | A study revealed that text messages that end with a period are considered as less sincere. In text messages, people use punctuation and emoticons to convey emotions and social cues. Also, the language of text messages has a serious impact on the English language. New words (e.g. LOL) have been added to the dictionary, people don't use hyphens anymore due to laziness, deep thoughts and ideas are summed up in 140 characters, and our smartphones correct our spelling so we don't have to learn how to spell words.
Image Description | Photograph of a woman using her phone.
Image Tags | female(s), smartphone

Im Digital-Detox-Camp sind Smartphones tabu

(Smartphones are taboo in digital detox camps)

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Newspaper | 20 Minuten
Date | 23.7.2015
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | addiction, smartphone, technology-free
Summary | Many people feel the need to restrict their technology use by taking a technology free or digital ‘detox’ holiday. Some tourist destinations already offer specific technology free accommodations, f.i. a monastery in Germany and a camp near Silicon Valley in California. Visitors are told to paint rather than instagram and talk to people rather than tweet. Ironically, these technology free spaces have become a luxury.
Image Description | Series of ten photographs potraying young people at digital detox camps.
Image Tags | female(s), male(s)

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

Wer nur auf Facebook lebt, stirbt früher

(Those who only live on Facebook die sooner)

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Newspaper | 20 Minuten
Date | 21.10.2015
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | Facebook, threat
Summary | Canadian psychologist Susan Pinker says that people who spend more time on Facebook than actually interacting with people face-to-face do not live as long. Face-to-face interaction enables us to develop intimate relationships and friendships that significantly increase our happiness, which in turn increases our life expectancy. New media can create a disparity between how many friends and social interactions one has online versus offline. Offline social interactions are however much richer and more important for a good psychological health.
Image Description | Photograph of a woman looking at her smartphone.
Image Tags | female(s), smartphone

Comment j'ai survécu à...une semaine sans smartphone

(How I survived...a week without smartphone)

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Newspaper | La Tribune de Genève
Date | 18.7.2015
Language | French
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | addiction, email, smartphone, technology-free
Summary | A journalist tried to live 7 days without her smartphone and talks about her experience. She might be part of the 20% of the Swiss addicted to their smartphone. People are addicted when they spend more time online than with their friends and family. This is not her case. She also realizes that with a smartphone, there is almost no separation between private and professional life; she can read her emails anytime. Without her smartphone, the journalist finds it difficult to organize her day: who is going to pick up the kids? At what time?
Image Description | Blurred photograph of a woman holding a phone; the person is blurred but the phone is in sharp focus.
Image Tags | female(s), smartphone

Schreiben: Die Handschrift verkümmert

(Writing: Handwriting is hampered)

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Newspaper | Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ)
Date | 1.3.2015
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | language threat, research/study, texting, word/writing
Summary | We are living in an age writing renaissance; no generation before us has written this profusely. We are always texting someone or updating our social media statuses and yet, ironically, we are losing a staple of writing culture: our handwriting. Researchers are debating whether this is a problem or not, but the fact is that many neuroscientific studies show that humans learn better while writing by hand rather than typing. The abbreviated, informal, emoticon-filled writing style of WhatsApp and co. may be corrupting writing culture at large.
Image Description | Photograph of a young child (girl) typing on a laptop.
Image Tags | computer/laptop, female(s)

Sags doch per Emoji

(Say it with emojis)

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Newspaper | Tages-Anzeiger
Date | 21.3.2015
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | emojis, misunderstanding
Summary | Adullts also use emojis. Emojis are cutesy little colorful symbols depicting simplified facial expressions, animals, or objects. Thematic packages of moving emojis can be bought. Emojis can be used to adorn messages or to replace written text altogether. Because their meanings are multivalent, they can easily be misunderstood, which results in awkwardness.
Image Description | Photograph of the author of the article.
Image Tags | female(s)

La vérité si je mens!

(The truth if I'm lying!)

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Newspaper | 24 heures
Date | 23.8.2015
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | research/study, social media
Summary | 66% of online users said they lie on social media. People have a tendency to portray themselves as beautiful, talented, and smart so that people can "like" them, notice them, or be jealous of them. What can we do against this syndrome? We can go back to "real" pleasures; for example, communicate with friends and not count them, or feel emoticons, and not click on them.
Image Description | Photograph in black and white of the author of the article.
Image Tags | female(s)

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