Digital Discourse Database

Number of Posts: 53
Posts 41 - 50

¿Le mandarías una foto desnudo a tu mejor amigo?

(Would you send a naked picture of yourself to your best friend?)

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Newspaper | El País
Date | 15.4.2016
Language | Spanish
Country | Spain
Topic Tags | sexting, texting
Summary | Human beings have three vital functions: communication, reproduction, and drinking/eating. Nowadays, people can satisfy these three functions online. Some might say that sharing naked pictures online is egocentric, but others try to normalize online nudity (e.g. with #FreeTheNipple and #Nutscapes). Another example is frexting (friends + texting); people send (half) naked pictures of themselves to friends instead of sending them to everyone on social media. Unlike popular beliefs, the author of the article found out that users who practice frexting can be males, females, and from different sexual orientations. Unlike sexting and the idealization of bodies, frexting is a way to go beyond the pressure of body representation. Frexting equals normalization and ridicule.
Image Description | Two photographs of frexting on social media: Paco Leon on Twitter, and Chelsea Handler on Instagram, and GIF of a naked woman (breasts and genitalia blurred).
Image Tags | female(s), gifs, male(s), social media

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

To Text or Not to Text: A Dating Conundrum

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Newspaper | The New York Times
Date | 28.1.2016
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | misunderstanding, texting
Summary | A woman and a man meet, show interest in each other, and go on a date. After that they text for two months without ever seeing each other again face to face. The woman is upset that the man does not aske her out again but she cannot overcome traditional conventions about women not initiating a date. After two months she breaks up the non-relationship by saying that she does not need a penpal. Then the man invites her for dinner and they get married several years after.
Image Description | Illustration of a man and a woman with a giant smartphone separating them and the woman holding a chainsaw.
Image Tags | female(s), male(s), smartphone

Thou shalt not end a relationship by text: Psychologist reveals the 17 golden rules of 'digital etiquette'

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Newspaper | Mail Online
Date | 25.2.2016
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | research/study, social media, texting
Summary | Researchers provided a list of 17 rules that users should follow. For example, they should not end a relationship by text, or overshare on social networks. Also, they should not post anything online or text someone when drunk, emotional, or angry. The research shows that users spend an average of 4 hours on social media every day. A psychologist claims that relationships have changed in the digital age.
Image Description | Series of four photographs: woman crying and using a tissue while looking at her phone, woman lying in bed sick with her phone in her hand, young man drunk using his laptop, and two young women smiling and looking at a smartphone.
Image Tags | computer/laptop, female(s), male(s), smartphone

Stop Your 'Dying,' It's Killing Me

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Newspaper | The New York Times
Date | 29.11.2015
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | texting, youth
Summary | Digital writing culture, be it texting or posting on social media, has developed a widespread obsession with grotesque exaggerations. An example would be the fading popularity of LOL while statements such as “I’m literally dying” have become commonplace to express hilarity. Other staples for expressing strong feelings towards something in texting are “feels”, “YAAASS”, or “I can’t even” among many others. Although hyperbole has a long history as a stylistic device, contemporary online culture seems to have reached new levels.
Image Description | Illustration of a skeleton sitting in a coffin and taking a selfie.
Image Tags | male(s), selfie

A Full Stop for Periods? Okay. Fine.

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Newspaper | The New York Times
Date | 10.6.2016
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | punctuation, texting, youth
Summary | Linguist David Crystal describes how the period of full stop punctuation mark is no longer used routinely in instant messaging. Because messages are usually short single-sentence fragments, full stops are not necessary for a good understanding of text messages. Not only are full stops routinely omitted, they also have become a marker for discontent or insincerity which was even empirically confirmed in a study. Further, the repetition of punctuation marks is also more commonplace than adhering to formal (school) writing standards in text messaging. Abbreviations like “lol” which were very popular among youths in previous years have become outdated because adults have now started using them.
Image Description | Portrait of linguist David Crystal.
Image Tags | 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

Der Punkt stirbt aus – wegen Messengern

(The period is dying out – because of messenger)

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Newspaper | 20 Minuten
Date | 12.6.2016
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | language threat, texting
Summary | Most people do not put a period at the end of their messages. It is pretty self-evident where sentences end in text messages, argues linguist David Crystal. When a user does add a period at the end of a message, it is a way to give the message more weight, to convey irony or discontent. An opposing trend can also be observed, namely over-punctualization by adding several exclamation or question marks. Teachers are being advised to be very cautious when correcting their students in cases like these.
Image Description | Series of two photographs: WhatsApp conversation and picture of Linguist David Crystal.
Image Tags | male(s), WhatsApp

Rédigez des mails pour être lu

(Write emails to be read)

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Newspaper | 24 heures
Date | 27.11.2014
Language | French
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | email, spelling, texting
Summary | Emails are very important, especially in a professional setting. Thus, it is important to follow certain rules. For example, abbreviations and spelling mistakes should not be permitted. Moreover, emails should be clear, precise, and to the point. People should leave emoticons for personal messages.
Image Description | Photograph of the author of the article.
Image Tags | male(s)

Junge schreiben - mehr als je zuvor

(Young people write – more than ever)

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Newspaper | St. Galler Tagblatt
Date | 29.1.2016
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | language threat, smartphone, texting, word/writing, youth
Summary | Ever since the Swiss youth did poorly in the PISA survey of 2000, critics have been blaming new technologies for deteriorating young people's linguistic skills. English literature lecturer Mario Andreotti however outlines that today's teens write more than previous generations, albeit less formally, because they use their phones to write rather than talk. Because texting does not follow the rigid formal rules of writing but rather is just spoken discourse written down, some experts assume that these relaxed writing habits may worsen students’ writing skills in general.
Image Description | Photograph of three teenagers who are not interacting: two of them are looking at their phones.
Image Tags | male(s), smartphone

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