Digital Discourse Database

Number of Posts: 15
Posts 11 - 15

Jeder 7. Teenager arbeitet besser dank Multitasking

(Every seventh teenager works better thanks to multi-tasking)

Hyperlink

Newspaper | 20 Minuten
Date | 24.10.2014
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | brain, research/study
Summary | An American study shows that 85% of students cannot focus well when multitasking. The participants in the study were solving cognitive tests on a computer, listening to music, and checking their messages. Interestingly 15% of students focused better while multitasking and these 15% had previously been assessed as students with expert/experienced multitaskers. The researchers assume that it is because digital natives’ brains have adapted to new media.
Image Description | Photograph of a teenage girl using her phone; the shot does not show her face entirely but focuses on the phone.
Image Tags | female(s), hand(s), smartphone

Tablets und Twitter –darauf stehen Junge

(Tablets and Twitter – that’s what young people like)

Hyperlink

Newspaper | 20 Minuten
Date | 30.10.2014
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | research/study, smartphone, social media, youth
Summary | A study conducted by the Zurich University of Applied Science shows that of 1000 informants between the ages of 12-19, 97% have a smartphone and only 1% a traditional mobile phone. Fewer young people use mp3 players than in recent years but listening to music still ranks high among young people. Social media use has increased considerably while different age groups target different platforms: 18-19 year-olds prefer Facebook while 14-15 year-olds use Twitter more profusely. Young people report having fewer offline hobbies than in recent years but still make sure to meet with friends on a daily basis.
Image Description | Photograph of two male teenagers wearing headphones; one of them is using a tablet and the other is eating a burger.
Image Tags | headphones, male(s), tablet

Non, le langage “sms” ne nuit pas à l’orthographe!

(No, text message language does not harm spelling!)

Hyperlink

Newspaper | 24 heures
Date | 22.3.2014
Language | French
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | language threat, research/study, school, texting, youth
Summary | Some people are worried that the new language of text messages is going to replace grammar, and that our children might forget how to write words properly. According to a study published in the Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, the answer is no. The results of the study show that 48% of the words are spelled according to standard spelling. The research also shows that there is no link between traditional spelling skills and text message features. Finally, they claim that the best students are the ones who use text message features the most. Other similar studies prove the same point.
Image Description | N/A

Il faut archiver nos vies pour que l’histoire vivante ne s’arrête pas

(We need to archive our lives so that history does not stop)

Hyperlink

Newspaper | La Tribune de Genève
Date | 26.3.2014
Language | French
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | language threat, research/study, school, spelling, texting, youth
Summary | Some people claim that writing with abbreviations is harmful for standard language. Others claim that it does not; some studies demonstrate that students can perfectly write abbreviations and their "standard" equivalent. Moreover, a study showed that students who are skilled in text message language have also better spelling skills in general. Writing is part of our culture; we write more and more. Thus, our practices resemble our forefathers’. The only difference is that nowadays it is more difficult to save and record our texts, whereas in the past people used to keep their letters and messages.
Image Description | Photograph of Benjamin Chaix, the author of the opinion piece.
Image Tags | male(s)

Le langage sms, éternel accusé de tous les maux des mots

(Text message language, always blamed for the ills of the words)

Hyperlink

Newspaper | La Tribune de Genève
Date | 30.8.2014
Language | French
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | language threat, research/study, school, smartphone, texting, youth
Summary | Although we can now send unlimited texts on our smartphones using the spellcheck feature, text message language is still widely used, especially among the younger generation. Should we be worried about that? Researchers claim that we shouldn’t be worried; texting does not threaten the French language. According to a study, young students can make the difference between a text message and a written school assignment; they can adapt their language according to the medium. Although no study has demonstrated that text messages have any deleterious effect on spelling skills, more research is needed.
Image Description | N/A

Page 2 of 2
Back | Next