Digital Discourse Database

Number of Posts: 50
Posts 41 - 50

Here's everything Facebook knows about you - and it's just plain creepy

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Newspaper | Mirror
Date | 8.11.2016
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | Facebook, marketing, privacy
Summary | It is remarkable bordering on scary how much information Facebook has on its users in order to target them with specific advertising. Facebook is aware of such things as their users' gender, age, generation, parenthood, being a pet owner, knowing people who have recently had a wedding/birthday/etc., political affiliation, spending habits, housing situation (including square footage of their house!), traveling habits, consumption practices (groceries, liquor, cosmetics, etc), car situation (worth, likeliness to buy a new car and what kind, etc.), and what type of mom they are (soccer, trendy, etc.)!
Image Description | Reuters image of a male silhouette using a smartphone in front of a lit-up Facebook logo and a Getty image of a Facebook page reflected in a woman's glasses.
Image Tags | Facebook, female(s), hand(s), logo, male(s)

Controversial rights group teaches young Muslims how spies monitor social media

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Newspaper | Telegraph
Date | 29.4.2017
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | privacy, threat, WhatsApp
Summary | A dubious organization is teaching young muslims in the UK how authorities can spy on their digital communications. Government authorities are eager to intercept instant messaging communication to be able to avoid terrorist attacks but companies such as WhatsApp and Telegram are making their services encrypted and refuse to aid the government in their surveillance endeavors.
Image Description | Image of a screen close-up showing the WhatsApp and Facebook icon, portraits of dead terrorist attackers (once with a balaclava), and a Getty image of the GCHQ director (UK intelligence organization?).
Image Tags | Facebook, logo, male(s), WhatsApp

Experten verraten: Diese Apps müssen dringend auf Ihr Smartphone

(Experts reveal: these apps need to be on your smartphone)

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Newspaper | Focus Online
Date | 5.3.2017
Language | German
Country | Germany
Topic Tags | privacy, smartphone, WhatsApp
Summary | It is difficult to avoid WhatsApp because virtually everyone is using it. The app profits from allowing you to reach everyone. There have however been privacy issues in the past. Safer options are the free app Signal (even recommended by Edward Snowden) or Threema. Other must-have apps are sophisticated password organizing apps, clean-up apps that optimize one's storage as well as good web browsers.
Image Description | Image of a boy holding a smartphone while laying on a sofa.
Image Tags | male(s), smartphone

LAPD's watchdog rolls out smartphone app to share more information with public

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Newspaper | Los Angeles Times
Date | 12.1.2017
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | law, privacy
Summary | The LAPD has launched an app to keep citizens informed about local police matters without middle men. The app also enables users to file complaints or commendations about officers as well as direct them to the nearest police station. The LAPD decided to provide this service as a free app because many locals do not have home computers but most do have a smartphone.
Image Description | "Los Angeles police officers monitor the scene of a shooting in the Nickerson Gardens housing project in Watts last summer. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)"
Image Tags | female(s), male(s)

Whatsapp macht das Abhören unmöglich – auch für sich selbst

(WhatsApp makes interception impossible – even for itself)

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Newspaper | Der Bund
Date | 5.4.2016
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | privacy, WhatsApp
Summary | WhatsApp has incorporated end-to-end encryption so that nobody can under no circumstances see the content of any message sent through the app. This was done so as to avoid problems with federal investigators. Recently, Apple did not allow federal investigators to break into a suspect’s phone because then the government would keep approaching them with such demands. Because WhatsApp wants to protects its users’ privacy, they have added end-to-end encryption to their service.
Image Description | Photograph of WhatsApp founder, Jan Koum.
Image Tags | male(s), WhatsApp

'La web conecta y a la vez separa'

('The Web connects and disconnects at the same time')

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Newspaper | El Mundo
Date | 30.4.2014
Language | Spanish
Country | Spain
Topic Tags | (mental) health, addiction, brain, research/study, smartphone, texting
Summary | Two experts debate about digital technologies and their impact on our lives. The internet is changing our society; some people think that it is making us more stupid and less connected, and some disagree. Both experts talk about the benefits of internet (e.g. collective intelligence, medical information online) and the risks (e.g. lack of privacy, digital divide). They both disagree with people such as Nicholas Carr who think internet is making us dumb and superficial. Hey may be exaggerating, but one expert agrees with the fact that people don't pay as much attention to what they're doing because they're always on their screens. They may be losing a few skills (e.g. reading texts with full attention, and having deep conversations). Internet and new technologies are changing our brain; for instance, they have an impact on memory. We don't have to remember as many things as before. Both experts also talk about the future of paper and books, and relationships.
Image Description | Video of the interview with the experts.
Image Tags | male(s)

The end of reflection

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Newspaper | The New York Times
Date | 12.6.2016
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | addiction, brain, smartphone, threat
Summary | Because virtually everyone carries a smartphone with them all day, all previously unfilled down-time is now filled with looking at notifications, text-messaging, browsing social media, etc. These little periods of unoccupation were important for self-reflection and introspection rather than tweeting every mundane thought. Our brains are capable of changing according to our media use and we are unaware of just how intensively we use digital media.
Image Description | Illustration of the “Thinker”-Statue looking at a smartphone and illustration of a landscape with people chasing after smartphones.
Image Tags | female(s), male(s), smartphone

Des camps de désintox pour pour accros au smartphone

(Rehab camps for smartphone addicts)

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Newspaper | 24 heures
Date | 12.3.2016
Language | French
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | addiction, brain, childhood, smartphone, technology-free, youth
Summary | South Korea is one of the most digitally connected countries. As a consequence, 1 out of 10 children is addicted to internet and other digital devices. Rehab camps for young internet addicts is supposed to help children live without digital devices. In those camps, children go hiking, play guitar, and read paper books. Rehab can be tough; it is almost the same process as for alcoholics or drug addicts. At the end of the camp, those young people know how to appreciate real life and have to find out what the causes of their escape to the virtual world are.
Image Description | Photograph of young people in South Korea playing video games in a room full of computers.
Image Tags | computer/laptop, game, male(s)

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

Gemeinsam einsam: Wir können das Rad nicht zurückdrehen

(Together alone: We can’t turn the clock back)

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Newspaper | Beobachter
Date | 1.4.2016
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | addiction, brain, smartphone, technology-free
Summary | ETH Neuroscientist Arko Ghosh has found out that smartphone use increases the size of the sensory/motoric front cortex of the brain. While many news media have reported his findings, few deeply engaged with his study. They rather just wanted to know from him whether that meant that smartphones were good or bad for the brain. One hotel in the Bernese Alps even advertises their location as particularly attractive because there is no cell phone reception or internet connection. Multiple apps to keep track of one’s smartphone use already exist.
Image Description | A group of four young people are staring at their phones.
Image Tags | female(s), male(s), smartphone

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