Digital Literacy Continued

There has been a lot of talk in the news lately about the abundance of fake news. Fake news is information deliberately posted to confuse people, drive traffic to websites and in many cases can have a significant impact. It is now our job to become detectives of what is real vs. what is fake.

Websites and news organizations make money from advertising when we view their content. There are three important distinctions for you to know:

1. Native Advertising - advertising that tries to sell or promote a product in the guise of a news story
2. Traditional Advertising - most common advertising that sells or promotes a product 
3. News story - real content containing factual information about a subject and independent of bias and should answer, who, what, when and how

For this post take a look at the following website banner and answer this question: 

Of the above which category do all three banners fall under, native advertising, traditional advertising or a news story and why? 

Credit: Stamford University Study: https://sheg.stanford.edu/upload/V3LessonPlans/Executive%20Summary%2011.21.16.pdf

Scrolling through your life

Another day another study that links social media with increased depression. https://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-more-you-endlessly-scroll-on-facebook-the-bigger-the-risk-to-your-mental-health-2018-01-12

Please read the above article. There will be questions on your quiz regarding some of the facts.

So for our final post of Q2 I thought we would have an honest share about our own social media habits.

 Please answer both of the following:

1) How much time are you spending on social media per day? Which social media platform do you gravitate towards? Do you find it hard to discipline yourself away from it?

2) Studies also found that Instagram users are the most narcisitic: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/beware-of-people-who-always-post-selfies-on-facebook-2015-07-16

Narcissim is defined as: extreme selfishness, with a grandiose view of one's own talents and a craving for admiration, as characterizing a personality type.

Do you use Instagram? Do you feel Instagram promotes this type of behavior? What is your experience with the platform?

Extra Credit:
Take the Narcissism Personality Test and discuss the results. https://openpsychometrics.org/tests/NPI/

When is the line crossed?

By now you have probably heard about Logan Paul. If not, he's a Youtube "celebrity" that recently filmed himself in Japan making fun of a suicide victim. It sparked global disgust and outrage and has since been removed from Youtube. Before it was removed it had been viewed 6 million times and most of his viewers are young people.

It is important to discuss issues like this when they come up. Seeing incredibly graphic content displayed in a mocking manner can be debilitating for young people who may or may not have developed coping mechanisms for viewing such material.

For this post please comment about your reaction to this case. Were you aware of who he was and what happened? What do you think is an appropriate response? With just a click of a camera we can instantly transmit high offensive and morally repugnant content. How far is too far?