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Lesson

Filter Bubble Trouble

How can filter bubbles limit the information we're exposed to?

Grade

12

Time

50 mins.

Objectives

  • Define "filter bubble" and explain how it occurs.
  • Reflect on the limitations and drawbacks that filter bubbles cause.
  • Identify strategies for escaping their own filter bubbles.

Vocabulary

algorithm . filter bubble . personalized content
algorithm – pieces of code that follow a sequence of instructions
filter bubble – when your social media feed and what you see online only aligns with your existing beliefs and experiences
personalized content – information that a website or app shows you based on what they think you want to see
Standards
This lesson meets standards for Common Core ELA, ISTE, CASEL and AASL.
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Topics

Information & Media Literacy Digital Citizenship & Literacy
Standards
This lesson meets standards for Common Core ELA, ISTE, CASEL and AASL.
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As we enter election season, it's important for students to understand the role that algorithms play in shaping what we see online. Use this lesson to help students consider how they might go beyond their "filter bubbles" and challenge their perspective.

Lesson Plan

50 mins.

Extend the lesson: Have students choose a social media, gaming, or other platform they use regularly (Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, etc.). Have students review their feed and identify what content they think might be part of their filter bubble (i.e., content where their friends and others might not see the same thing). Take screenshots of at least three examples, and arrange them in an image with “you” at the center using a Google Slide, Padlet, or VoiceThread. Students should explain in the drawing why they think the pieces of content are part of their filter bubble. Have students share their examples with each other, and invite them to use the comment function noting what they observe about each other’s examples.

For related lessons, check out the Essential News & Media Literacy Skills for Students lesson collection.

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© Common Sense Media. Lessons are shareable with attribution for noncommercial use only. No remixing permitted. View detailed license information at creativecommons.org. Lesson last updated: