Happy Tuesday!
Students were provided with their field trip forms for Kamp Kiwanis. Please ensure all blue forms are completed and returned by this Friday.
Today in Social Studies, we discussed social media algorithms and how they work in such a way that we are more likely to see content that is similar to what we already like or agree with. Therefore, our social media feeds never give us the whole picture. As a society, many people are heavy adopters of social media and they now rely on these sites for their news. The problem is that social media platforms were never intended to be news organizations, as their goal is to display ads. They want you to spend more of your time on their site, so they ‘recommend’ articles that evoke your emotions and reinforce your current beliefs and attitudes.
To demonstrate this concept, students were divided into two groups and each group was provided with a booklet of social media posts. The two groups looked at information and listed the pros and cons of a proposed solar factory being built near a school. However, students were not told that the information booklets were different and each booklet had a different perspective of the issue. When it came time to vote on the referendum, students were surprised when the many members of the other group voted differently than them. The activity reinforced how the information we are exposed to affects our attitudes and decisions.
Guided questions that students were asked to consider as a result of our lesson:
How can information impact my decisions?
What are the pros and cons of using online platforms?
Why should we be critical consumers of online information?
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