Digital Discourse Database

Number of Posts: 96
Posts 81 - 90

Apple va remplacer l'emoji revolver par un pistolet à eau

(Apple is going to replace the gun emoji with a squirt gun)

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Newspaper | Le Figaro
Date | 2.8.2016
Language | French
Country | France
Topic Tags | emojis, misunderstanding, threat
Summary | Apple decided to get rid of its gun emoji because authorities thought it was difficult to interpret this new form of communication. With this decision, Apple takes a stand in the U.S. gun debate. The expansion of emojis in the world reminds us of the idiom "a picture is worth a thousand words". The emoji trend can also lead to problems; sending a bomb emoji or gun emoji to someone can be perceived as a threat and people can be arrested for that.
Image Description | Series of gun emojis next to squirt emojis.
Image Tags | emojis

Apple transforme son emoji pêche

(Apple transforms its peach emoji)

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Newspaper | Le Figaro
Date | 3.11.2016
Language | French
Country | France
Topic Tags | emojis, language threat, spelling
Summary | Not everyone agrees with the new iOS update; some emojis have disappeared. For instance, the old peach emoji was replaced by another emoji that looks more like an apricot. Changing emojis is another way of saying "you should write this way and not that way", which is similar to a spelling reform. Emojis are becoming political. Finally, emojis are not a threat to language; they are a way to complement it.
Image Description | Images of the old and new peach emojis, and photograph of a cap with the message "make peach (picture of the new peach emoji) peach (picture of the old peach emoji) again".
Image Tags | emojis

Dans le secret de la très discrète Académie des emojis

(The secret behind the very discrete Emoji Academy)

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Newspaper | Le Figaro
Date | 31.10.2016
Language | French
Country | France
Topic Tags | emojis, spelling
Summary | Emojis have to go through a lot before they can be available on our phones and apps; they first have to be approved by the Unicode Consortium. The Unicode Consortium was first created to codify all the different written characters in the world so that they would look similar on any platform. Now, the organization does not only focus on the normalization of words, but also of emojis. People working for the Unicode Consortium (mostly white 50-year old men) meet four times every year to discuss the evolution of emojis. They all agree on one point: emojis cannot be considered a “language”. Emojis complement language (by transmitting certain emotions for instance). Nevertheless, some debates surrounding emojis mirror certain debates related to spelling reforms.
Image Description | Images of different emojis, and logos of companies members of the Unicode Consortium.
Image Tags | emojis, logo

La cure de Selena Gomez: décrocher du smartphone

(Selena Gomez's therapy: hanging up her smartphone)

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Newspaper | 20 minutes
Date | 2.12.2016
Language | French
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | (mental) health, addiction, smartphone, youth
Summary | Selena Gomez has been suffering from depression. She got off her smartphone for 90 days and felt much better. The experience was relaxing and invigorating. Even though Selena Gomez is trying to limit her time online, she is still very popular on Instagram.
Image Description | Photograph of Selena Gomez and screenshot of one of her Instagram posts.
Image Tags | female(s), Instagram

Les jeunes passent plus de temps sur le net

(Young people spend more time online)

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Newspaper | 20 minutes
Date | 9.11.2016
Language | French
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | addiction, research/study, smartphone, social media, threat, youth
Summary | According to a study, young people spend an average of 2 hours and 30 minutes online during the week, and 3 hours and 40 minutes on the weekend. Also, young people cannot live without their smartphone. They don't usually use their phone to make phone calls or text; they rather use their phone for social media (e.g. Snapchat, Instagram). Even though young people spend a lot of time on their phone, they still meet with friends face-to-face. Smartphones do not replace physical relationships. Finally, families should have rules for new media use at home.
Image Description | Photograph of a group of teenagers (their faces are cut off from the picture); they are sitting next to each other using their phones.
Image Tags | smartphone

"Le petit enfant cherche avant tout la relation"

("The child primarily looks for relationships")

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Newspaper | La Tribune de Genève
Date | 9.1.2016
Language | French
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | childhood, smartphone, threat
Summary | A psychiatrist talks about the relationship between children and screens. Before 3 years old, adults should always be there and should only use screens on a short period of time, to entertain. But it is important to also use traditional toys so that children do not think their parents only think of digital devices. Moreover, it is important to have rules: no tablet during dinner, nor to calm down a child. Also, tablets should not be used at night because of the light. Smartphones should only be used by parents; children should not use them to play.
Image Description | N/A

C'est la rentrée à l'école numérisée

(It's the start of the digital school year)

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Newspaper | Le Temps
Date | 30.8.2016
Language | French
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | childhood, digitized education, school, smartphone, youth
Summary | A school principal explains how digital devices can help children learn. He wants to progressively digitize 50% of the school material. Smartphones and laptops don't ruin the school system; we just need to know how to use them. At his private school, everyone has a an iPad where they can find their class material. Now, the school provides each child with an iPad, but soon everyone will bring their own device. Our digitized society has the advantage of tightening social relationships between people, which is something not everyone agrees with.
Image Description | Photograph of a child using a tablet.
Image Tags | chart, female(s), male(s), school, tablet

Jamais sans mon portable!

(Never without my cell phone!)

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Newspaper | 24 heures
Date | 21.2.2016
Language | French
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | addiction, smartphone
Summary | Are people addicted to their smartphone? Is it bad or dangerous? Experts claims it is not a real addiction; doctors don't talk about "cell phone addictions". It is also a bad idea to use pathological terms when talking about new media uses (a selfie is narcissistic, Facebook is exhibitionist etc.). Why are people afraid to lose their phone or forget it at home? People are not attached to the object, but to its functionalities. Smartphones replace a lot of everyday objects (agenda, newspaper, etc.). Therefore, people can be anxious if they don't have their smartphone with them.
Image Description | Photograph of a young woman in bed using her smartphone.
Image Tags | female(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)

Le téléphone pleure de joie

(The phone is crying of joy)

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Newspaper | Le Matin
Date | 2.7.2016
Language | French
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | addiction, smartphone
Summary | An American man and a smartphone became "husband and smartphone" in a chapel in Las Vegas. The man did that to condemn our society's addiction to digital devices such as smartphones.
Image Description | N/A

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