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The dove, the most frequently mentioned bird in the Hebrew Bible, appears in diverse contexts, spanning its appearance as an element in the narrative (as in the case of Noah's ark), and as an allegory and metaphor (as in the cryptic "sword of the dove"—twice in Jeremiah—and "the city of the dove"—Zephaniah). The dove even appears as the proper name of a prophet (or possibly of two, both named Jonah, son of Amittai). This article applies a communication perspective to better interpret some of these texts. We argue that the dove's communicative attributes, to include unique acoustics, remarkable power of flight, but primarily the trait of returning home—the basis for the use of doves as carrier pigeons—may either explain or deepen the interpretation of many of the references to the pigeon in the Bible. In this vein, a major focus of the article is on using the dove's homing ability as a key for reinterpreting the Book of Jonah. We conclude by suggesting that the dove's trait of returning and, hence, its use as envoy made it a useful symbol of the deity's presence in the world. In the Jewish reading, it became an emblem of one of the main political and eschatological themes of the Bible: the return home from exile, beginning with the exodus and return of Jacob's sons to Canaan and ending with the Eschaton. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pashkevilim, printed wall notices posted around Jewish ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods, serve as one of the religious community's popular communication channels. The Pashkevilim mostly deal with controversial intra-community issues and feature a unique style, extremist rhetoric, and vocabulary derived from the religious literature. Humorous imitations of the genre arose over the years, which circulated in the community and outside of it, posing a challenge to the rabbinic hegemony. Although humorous Pashkevilim have likely been present for as long as Pashkevilim themselves, there is currently a lack of research investigating them. By adopting a critical discourse analysis approach, the current study aims to address this gap by identifying the predominant types of humorous Pashkevilim and analyzing the discursive practices they employ. The findings indicate three main discursive practices that characterize humorous Pashkevilim: parody, satire, and irony. While parody exaggerates the formal characteristics of the genre and mocks them, satire and irony criticize the content and topics discussed in traditional Pashkevilim, especially on the subject of Jewish law and religious stringency. These practices express an oppositional reading of the genre, which challenges its function as well as its socio-cultural, political, and religious significance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"Hilltop youth" is the name for young religious Jewish people in Israel who, separated from their families, are living in illegal outposts on hilltops throughout Judea and Samaria. The group's unique religious, sociological, and ideological characteristics differentiate them from other religious communities previously studied in relation to digital culture. In this study, we offer a new angle that provides insight into the hilltop youth's religious–ideological perception while focusing on their attitude toward new media, smartphones, and social networks, in particular, an attitude that is part of their self-definition as a separatist community. The findings present and discuss the different layers represented within the hilltop youth's media resistance and how this media-negating ideological position shapes the group's perception as a religious community that is a counterculture to religious and social sectors in Israel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The contemporary parenting challenge of regulating children's screen time became even more difficult during the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19). The current research addresses the characteristics of this challenge and explores mothers' perceptions regarding their children's screen use, through two consecutive studies. Study 1 included 299 mothers of elementary school children, who were asked to complete questionnaires regarding their children's screen habits. Mothers were also asked about their own attitudes towards screens, as parents, and about their personal feelings of frustration and guilt. Study 2 replicated this procedure among a new sample of 283 mothers who also completed validated scales assessing their sense of parental competence and authority style. Retrospective reports of mothers indicated that, during the lockdown, entertainment use of screens increased by 73% among 4th–6th graders and by 108% among 1st–3rd graders. Educational use increased by 86% in both age groups. Mothers' guilt increased as well and was predicted by children's entertainment use (but not educational use), after accounting for demographic variables and mothers' attitudes. Other factors, such as parenting style and having at-least one child with a diagnosis of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), were associated with entertainment use (regardless of the COVID-19 lockdown). Factors that were found to moderate the lockdown effect were mothers' attitudes towards screens and parental confidence. The findings are discussed in the context of parents' efforts to regulate their children's screen use. Highlights: Children's screen time is a major parenting challenge today. Children's screen use for entertainment and educational purposes increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mothers' guilt also increased but was associated only with entertainment use of screens. The increase in entertainment use was moderated by mothers' attitudes and parental confidence. Parents may derive insights from this study regarding their own parental approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A number of studies have sought to understand how mobile phones affect time practices, and beyond them, the experience of time in users' daily lives. This article is a further effort in that direction, employing the deprivation study method. We conducted a field study of 80 adolescents, or "cellular natives," separating them from their cellphones for 1 week. The findings indicate that the cellphone's absence indeed had a dominant impact on a variety of adolescents' time-related practices and experience, that yielded in turn both negative and positive feelings. We propose three main axes for understanding the cellphone's implications for the time experience: The mobile's flexible time v. Rigid time, its ritual time v. Linear time, and its fragmented time v. Continuous time. In all these dimensions, we point to distinct features of the time experience associated with the mobile phone, and also try to relate it to the emotional state and state of mind of today's teens. In conclusion, we propose that a broad understanding of the cellphone's role need to include the aspect of time, at least as it is experienced by adolescents in our current media climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Parental factors and strategies reduction PSU among adolescents. • Communications about PSU with mothers, paternal support giving, and paternal co-use moderated the change over time in the children's PSU. • Adolescents who had increased communication about smartphones with their fathers or mothers reported of less PSU. Problematic Smartphone Use (PSU) among adolescents is growing problem worldwide and multiple studies investigated its associated parental risk and protective factors. The available studies, however, typically do not address the multidimensional nature of PSU. They also rely heavily on cross-sectional designs with a small number of potentially contributing variables. This 6-month prospective study examines the relationships between a large range of parental factors with the three known dimensions of PSU: social environment pressure, emotional gain, and addiction-like behaviors. Specifically the study examines whether, and to what extent, the various dimensions of current and future PSU are related to parental support giving, general quality of communication, specific communication about smartphone use, and the four common mediation strategies. The sample comprised 1187 triads of mothers, fathers, and adolescents. The data-analysis pipeline consisted of three consecutive phases: (1) analyses of parental factors at baseline, (2) analyses of parental factors change over 6-months, and (3) interaction analyses between parental factors and the time-period of the study. The pipeline elicited three factors that moderated the change in PSU over time: Communication about smartphones with mothers, parental support giving, and parental co-use. The implications of these findings are discussed in the context of the existing literature and the familial, microsystem theoretical framework. Altogether, this prospective study scrutinized key parental factors and strategies that could be utilized by parents for coping with one of the most difficult parenting challenges of the digital era. Further research may build upon these findings to develop designated interventions to reduce PSU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines students' perceptions of teacher authority in WhatsApp groups compared to the traditional classroom setting, with a focus on female students attending religious high schools. The strict authority structures inherent in these settings provide a unique context for the research. Most students reported finding it easier to challenge teacher authority in WhatsApp groups than in the classroom, citing five key reasons. Additionally, we identified six patterns of resistance to teachers' stipulations within these groups. The discussion highlights the significance of this increased opposition to teachers' demands and the adoption of new response patterns in WhatsApp groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the Jewish ultra-Orthodox "kosher cellphone," a device that can be used only for voice calls. It asks why the leadership of this highly textual community didn't stop at blocking Internet use over the kosher cellphone and went on to block texting messages as well. Using both interviews with ultra-Orthodox anti-cellphone-activists and content analysis of online discussions among community members, the study analyzes the perception of threat that underlies the prohibition of texting, and explores how this prohibition is received in the community. The findings show that in contrast to the threat posed by improper content, which affects the external boundaries of this enclave community, blocking texting stems from a perception that the technology's configuration threatens intra-communal monitoring and the control of the dissemination of information within the communal space. Our findings add a number of dimensions to the current understanding of the nexus of new media, social control, and isolated religious communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Problematic smartphone use (PSU) is an increasingly prevalent disorder among adolescents. We aimed to identify unique smartphone use profiles and examine whether different parental factors and adolescent smartphone use severity might explain these profiles. The sample comprised 1,187 Israeli families comprising mother/father/adolescent triads (48% boys, 51% girls; ages 14–18). Latent profile analysis identified three distinct profiles of smartphone use: “normative use” (n = 435), “mild problematic use” (n = 481), and “severe problematic use” (n = 271). Subsequent MANOVAs revealed that parents of children with a severe PSU profile reported the highest severity levels, lowest communication, and support provided to their adolescents, and greater tendencies toward restrictive and negative active mediation strategies. These findings were consistent with the adolescents’ perceptions. Fathers of children with a mild problematic use profile reported increased support-giving over a six-month period. The research provides a more individualized approach to understanding smartphone use among adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine how teacher-student communication through social network technologies may support student resilience during an ongoing war (i.e., the 2014 Israel-Gaza war). Based on student responses from open-ended surveys ( N  = 68), five content categories of emotional support were identified: caring, reassuring, emotion sharing, belonging, and distracting. The mere existence of continuous online contact with teachers also contributed to resilience perceptions. Interviews with 11 secondary school teachers revealed three main purposes for this communication: (a) delivering emotional support to students, (b) monitoring their distress; and (c) maintaining civilized norms of discourse. Practical implications and theoretical contributions are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim/Purpose: In this paper, we analyze the phenomenon of "classroom WhatsApp groups", in which a teacher and students from a particular classroom interact with one another, while specifically focusing on the student perspective of these interactions. Background: The instant messaging application WhatsApp enables quick, interactive multimedia communication in closed groups, as well as one-on-one interactions between selected group members. Yet, very little is known about the extent, nature, and purposes of these practices, the limitations and affordances, the type of discourse and conflicts that develop in these spaces, and the extent to which it affects teacher-student interactions outside of WhatsApp (e.g., the social climate in class, the teacher's status, teacher-student and student-student relations), especially from the students' perspective. Methodology: Our methodology combines questionnaires, personal interviews, and focus groups with Israeli secondary school students (N = 88). Contribution: The present study adds to the expanding body of empirical research on social media use in educational settings by specifically focusing on a heretofore underexposed aspect, namely, secondary school student-teacher communication in the popular instant messaging application WhatsApp. We report on findings from the student perspective and discuss the advantages and limitations of this form of communication sphere, and on the social functions of the different classroom WhatsApp groups in secondary school students' everyday life. Findings: The combined findings reveal that classroom WhatsApp groups have become a central channel of communication for school-related topics. It is used primarily for organizational purposes (sending and receiving updates and managing learning activities), as well as a means for teachers to enforce discipline. Students mentioned many advantages of WhatsApp communication, such as easy access, the ability to create communities, the ability to safeguard personal privacy, and the communication format (written, mediated, personal, or group). However, they also recognized limitations (i.e., communication overload) and challenged teacher ability to monitor and affect student interactions in social media, even when they are present in these WhatsApp classroom groups. Finally, we report on the role of parallel, sans-teacher WhatsApp groups, which are characterized as back stage discourse arenas that accompany the front stage offline classroom activities and the "official" classroom WhatsApp group. Recommendations for Practitioners: The combined findings of this study indicate how WhatsApp-based, joint teacher-student groups can serve a variety of educational purposes, namely, organizational, instructional, and educational-disciplinary. In addition, and in spite of teachers concerns, students are aware of the challenges inherent to the use of WhatsApp for communication with their teachers. Some of the main characteristics that prevent teachers from using other ubiquitous digital communication media, such as Facebook or Twitter, are not relevant when it comes to WhatsApp. Both teachers and students view WhatsApp as a favored channel of communication because of the low exposure to personal information and minimal invasion of privacy. Future Research: The qualitative methodology of this paper limits the ability to generalize the current findings to other contexts and population groups. Future research should preferably explore the generalizability of our findings to larger sections of teenage populations. It should also explore similarities and differences with other age groups. Finally, the present study was set in a particular country (Israel). Local norms of cellphone use and of appropriate teacher-student interaction, as well as locally developed media domestication patterns, may differ from country to country and/or from one cultural group to another. Future research should then include and compare the current findings with data from different countries and cultures in order to complete the picture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent studies have seen religious observance as inherently related to available communication technologies. This study follows this thrust but complements the focus on religious praxis with a look at media theology--the ideological dimension of the religion and media nexus. It traces three distinct facets of media theology: the way religious sensibilities affect how we create, shape, apply, and establish a relationship with media technologies; how media technologies serve as tools for grasping aspects of theology; and finally, how media use can launch mental and existential religious experiences. The study's orientation is historical, charting the development of the relationship between media technologies and the religious mind in the Abrahamic religions from the biblical media of fire and cloud through script and electric communications and all the way to the Internet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Media technologies, such as telephones, often challenge stammers. Other media, especially applications such as SMS and social networks, enable stammers to express themselves fluently. This study looks into the multifaceted meanings of the encounter between stammers and new media, focusing on applications which enable speech through writing, and a Stammers forum website, as a site for reflexive debate on the meaning of new media opportunities. The study focuses on questions such as anonymity, the “noise” of various media and the ways in which new media helps to improve the users quality of life, but at the same time might lead them to reduce their social life to an alternative “verbal ghetto”, confined to the borders of the new media platform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exposure to war is associated with psychological disturbances, but ongoing communication between adolescents and teachers may contribute to adolescents' resilience. This study examined the extent and nature of teacher-student communication on Social Network Sites (SNS) during the 2014 Israel-Gaza war. Israeli adolescents (N = 208, 13-18 yrs) completed information about SNS communication. A subset of these (N = 145) completed questionnaires on social rejection and distress sharing on SNS. More than a half (56%) of the respondents communicated with teachers via SNS. The main content category was 'emotional support'. Adolescents' perceived benefits from SNS communication with teachers were associated with distress sharing. Social rejection was negatively associated with emotional support and perceived benefits from SNS communication. We conclude that SNS communication between teachers and students may provide students with easy access to human connections and emotional support, which is likely to contribute to adolescents' resilience in times of war. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on a multi-method study that seeks to explore if, how and why secondary teachers use Facebook (FB) to interact with their students. Issues of privacy, authority, and even abuse have fueled socio-political debates on the desirability of teacher–student FB contact, leading some authorities to curtail or even prohibit such contact. Proponents of harnessing Web 2.0 and Social media technology for learning purposes, on the other hand, have emphasized the many potential advantages for formal and informal learning. However, there is little empirical research on the scope, the nature and the purposes for secondary school teacher–student contact through social network sites. The present study makes a first step in this direction, by triangulating teacher survey data ( N = 187) with in-depth teacher interviews ( N = 11). Findings from both data sets show that teacher–student FB contact comes in different forms and serves a range of purposes, which fall into three main categories: Academic-instructional, psycho-pedagogical and social-relational. Advantages, dilemmas and limitations of FB contact with secondary school students are identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study the authors investigate the ways in which a television interview with a Palestinian female terrorist was received by Jewish-Israeli youth with hawkish political views, focusing on their emotional reactions. The ethical implications of the interpretive acts performed by viewers are discussed. The authors' analysis of viewers' responses to a media portrayal of a female terrorist contributes to the understanding of the role played by gender in the construction of enemy images in violent conflicts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In April 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) published guidelines on sleep, physical activity, and sedentary behavior for preschool children that included recommendations regarding children's screen time. This article discusses the psychological implications of children's screen-time through a step-by-step, critical review of the literature underlying these recommendations. Out of 33 studies that addressed psychological outcomes of screens, 31 were rated by the WHO as studies with very low-quality and two moderate-quality studies were irrelevant or methodologically problematic. Altogether, the findings did not converge into a unified narrative and many studies produced counterfactual, positive and null results. A meta-analysis of all 33 studies revealed a very small overall effect (r = 0.095) and a significant publication bias (adjusted r = 0.06). These findings corroborate with current literature and suggest that, to date, there is no convincing causal evidence that screen-time (per se) impairs psychological development. Future research is recommended to distinguish between normative and pathological screen use, direct and indirect effects of screens (e.g., through the reduction of healthy daily behaviors), and different screen content (e.g., educational, entertainment, or age-inappropriate content). Future guidelines may emphasize the complexity of the literature and provide parents with more nuanced recommendations regarding children's screen use. • This article reviews the psychological literature of the WHO guidelines. • 31 studies were of very low quality and the remaining 2 were irrelevant. • The evidence did not converge into a unified narrative. • Meta-analysis revealed a very low overall effect and a publication bias. • Screen-time (per se) has not been proven to impair psychological development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Counselors and social workers hold a positive view towards online therapeutic relationships. • Social media improve the therapeutic staff's capabilities. • Positive practices related to distinctive features of online communication channels. • Significant challenges included dilemmas regarding privacy, authority and boundaries. The rising of social media has opened new opportunities for forming therapeutic relationships with youth at risk who have little faith in institutionalized interventions. The goal of this study is to examine whether and how youth care workers utilize social media communications for reaching out to detached adolescents and providing them emotional support. Qualitative in-depth interviews (N = 17) were conducted with counselors, social workers, and clinical psychologists who work with youth at risk. A thematic analysis of the interviews revealed three principal psychosocial usages of social media: (1) Reaching out and maintaining reciprocal and meaningful therapeutic relationships with youth at risk over time; (2) Identifying risks and emotional distress; and (3) "stepping in" and providing psychosocial assistance, when needed. These beneficial practices are made possible through the high accessibility and the sense of secured mediation that characterize social media communication and that complement the psychosocial needs of youth at risk. Alongside these advantages, the analysis yielded several significant challenges in social media therapeutic relationships, including privacy dilemmas and blurring of authority and boundaries. Given that social media communication is a relatively new phenomenon, the applied psychosocial practices are shaped through a process of trial and error, intuitive decisions, and peer learning. Although the main conclusion from this study supports the notion that the advantages of social media therapeutic relationships with youth at risk outweigh their problematic aspects, future research is recommended to establish clear guidelines for youth caregivers who wish to integrate the new media in their daily psychosocial work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]