Ignoring training (QUA-M2-02-EN)

The objective of this activity is to learn how to choose which news we need to know, and which is good to ignore.

• Students (secondary school, high school, university)
• Educators, trainers, councillors, youth workers

STEP 1:

Facilitator will explain that some headlines and news just pop up while opening mobile phone or browser. Some of them are sensational, some designed as clickbait, or it could also be a serious article. Facilitator will explain participants that during this activity, they will become more informed about strategies which allow them to ignore some news.

Facilitator share some headlines as a newsfeed example of distracting and low-quality information for participants:

• Is a civil war brewing in America?
• T-shirts that went totally wrong.
• What to do if a worst-case nuclear scenario actually happened
• 5 sure ways to ruin your relationship

Facilitator will ask participants which from above mentioned examples are at a first glance a low-quality news and why. Few minutes for participants to decide.

STEP 2:

Facilitator point out that we now live in “economy of attention”. The first strategy to overcome the laps in attention is self-nudging. This involves avoiding low-quality information and self-control. This also means getting rid of any tempting or distracting things in participants surroundings, or setting a time limits. Also, it is important to reward themselves in other way that losing time on distractions.

Facilitator will explain that avoiding low-quality news will give participants more time to learn, to work on their skills. It will help them to remove distractions from theirs daily life.

STEP 3:

Facilitator explains that lateral reading is another strategy that helps to evaluate the credibility of information and protect yourself from false and misleading information.

The strategy involves leaving the source and opening a new tab to research who is behind the information.

Facilitator will suggest prepared example of headline for check. Participants will open individually or on one device the headline/article and they will discuss how to apply the lateral reading on it.

Facilitator helps them and explain that it is important not to trust headlines blindly. They are often misleading. They are meant to catch attention. Sometimes the main point of the article may be very different from what the headline suggests. A sensational claim may link to a headline that seems to support it, but if participants read the original source carefully, they will see that it doesn't.

STEP 4:

Facilitator point out the third approach, which can help participants to ignore some unimportant news and minimize online harm. Facilitator will share prepared example(s) of troll’s message(s). Facilitator explains that trolls are malicious actors on the internet whose goal is to cause harm. Facilitator explains that the best way to deal with them is to ignore them and block them. Participants can also report trolls to the platform moderators, who can act against them. By doing this, participants are not giving them the satisfaction of getting a reaction, and they are also helping to make the online space safer and more respectful for everyone.

• Notebook or mobile phone

• Discussion

• Self-awareness

• Reflection

Facilitator prepares an example of headline (with possibility to open original source) on which he/she can explain what lateral thinking is, and the difference between sensational headline and the original source.

Facilitator prepares “trolls” message(s) and discuss it with participants.

Ludden, D. 2022. Why We Should Practice "Critical Ignoring" in the Digital Age.

Retrieved from: https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/talking-apes/202211/do-you-really-want-click

Kozyreva, A., Wineburg, S., Lewandowsky, S., & Hertwig, R. (2022).Critical ignoring as a core competence for digital citizens. CurrentDirections in Psychological Science, 1-8.  https://doi.org/10.1177/09637214221121570

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