Digital Discourse Database

Number of Posts: 108
Posts 81 - 90

El 21% de los jóvenes está en riesgo de ser adicto a las nuevas tecnologías

(21% of young people are at risk of becoming addicted to new technologies)

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Newspaper | El País
Date | 3.7.2015
Language | Spanish
Country | Spain
Topic Tags | (mental) health, addiction, research/study, smartphone, threat, youth
Summary | A lot of young people are addicted to their phones; although they might not know they are addicted, they spend most of their time glued to their phone. Beatriz Valera is 19 and is addicted. She used to spend her days alone on her computer and smartphone. She would only spend time with people online. A psychologist expert in addictions claims that the need to be part of a social group makes people addicted to the digital world. Techno-addicts need to learn how to use their digital devices and how to control themselves. To help them, experts also suggest giving them the same advice as they would give drug addicts. Most of the techno-addicts are between 14 and 30 years old.
Image Description | Photograph of a girl holding a phone that is hiding her face.
Image Tags | female(s), smartphone

Comunícate

(Contact)

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Newspaper | El País
Date | 13.2.2015
Language | Spanish
Country | Spain
Topic Tags | selfie, smartphone, threat
Summary | The author of the article talks about how streets look different now; he used to look at people in the streets, listen to their conversations, but now most of the people outside walk staring at their screens. They talk to people they cannot see, feel, smell. They take pictures of themselves and read e-books. It's a new way of communication that not only occurs in the streets but also in bars, restaurants, alone or in groups. The author claims he is more afraid of the "homo tecnologicus" than cars that don't respect pedestrian crossings.
Image Description | Photograph of a woman with two phones.
Image Tags | female(s), smartphone

Más dóciles y más cobardes

(More docile and more coward)

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Newspaper | El País
Date | 28.3.2015
Language | Spanish
Country | Spain
Topic Tags | addiction, smartphone, threat
Summary | Smartphones and tablets are invading our lives and making us less social. People cannot live without their digital devices; they love them and carry them everywhere. Before smartphones and computers, people had time to think, and information didn't travel at the speed of light. The Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben claimed that we've never been so docile and coward at the same time. Smartphones and tablets are making us lonely. People used to gather around fires, and then around TV. Now everyone has his or her own screen and own headphones.
Image Description | Photograph of three smartphones with a picture of a headphone.
Image Tags | headphones, smartphone

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

Dumbing Down the Phone for Children

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Newspaper | The New York Times
Date | 12.12.2015
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | childhood, smartphone, threat, youth
Summary | Parents all face the problem of their children wishing for smartphones for christmas at some point. Often, parents feel that point arrives too early. There are some possibilities to ease children into new media use, by getting a "dumbphone" for instance which has no internet access. Even smartphones have settings for parental control where curfews can be set when the child/teenager is supposed to sleep and not be able to use the smartphone or to block social media or in-app purchases. It is irresponsible to give young children/teenagers full use of a smartphone but one should give them access to the digital sphere in steps, just as one does not start teaching a child how to cook by handing it all the sharp knives.
Image Description | Photograph of a family in front of christmas tree gathered around a smartphone.
Image Tags | female(s), male(s), smartphone

Napthine government to introduce sexting laws

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Newspaper | The Age
Date | 21.8.2014
Language | English
Country | Australia
Topic Tags | law, sexting, threat, youth
Summary | The Australian Naphtine government wants to loosen child pornography prosecution laws to exclude non-exploitative consensual sexting among minors. The reason for this change is that young people’s careers can suffer because they got placed on the sex offenders register for sexting while underage. Minors who distribute intimate imagery of a peer will still be prosecuted but not land on the child pornography offenders list for life.
Image Description | Photograph of two face less female bodies using a smartphone. Only torso and hands are visible.
Image Tags | female(s), hand(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

Please, don't silence your cellphones

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Newspaper | Washington Post
Date | 16.4.2016
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | smartphone, technology-free, threat
Summary | AMC's entertainment chief executive commented that they are considering letting moviegoers use their smartphones in AMC theaters. The reasoning behind this statement being that it is no longer possible to tell young adults today to put away their smartphones for two hours. This statement was met with a lot of public anger about smartphones entering even the sanctity of the cinema. AMC quickly rectified the statement saying that texting will not be allowed in their theaters in the foreseeable future.
Image Description | Illustration of a (abstracted, faceless) movie theater audience on top of a huge smartphone screen.
Image Tags | female(s), male(s), smartphone

CALLING ALL PARENTS Being glued to your smartphone is putting your children’s lives in danger

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Newspaper | The Sun
Date | 6.6.2016
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | addiction, childhood, research/study, smartphone, threat
Summary | A new study showed that parents who are addicted to their phones are putting their children's life in danger. Parents are distracted by their phone while they should be looking after their child. Adults should turn off their phones when they are with their children; it can save their kids' lives in certain situations.
Image Description | Series of two photograph: young mom with 2 toddlers on a swing; she is talking on the phone while looking at her tablet, and another young mom on her phone while looking at her tablet; she is pushing a stroller. Video of a mother who does not like the negative effects of social media on her kids; she uses a gun to shoot her kids' smartphones.
Image Tags | female(s), smartphone, tablet

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

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