The Tech Effect

Lesson #1 Attention and Time

Learning Intention

Understand that digital platforms are designed to capture and monetize your attention.

Essential Question

How are platforms designed to capture attention? 

Lesson materials

Lesson slides

Whiteboards or paper

Dry-erase markers or pens  

Chart paper

Lesson standards –Shape America National Standards

5.12.2 5.12.3

5.12.4 5.12.6

6.12.2

Introduction (~5 minutes)

Introduction– Ask: What is time?  Record answers on chart paper.  We are going to look at time from the perspective of total months from the age of 18 to 90. 

Looking at the handout, think about how you spend your time. Remind the students that each dot represents one month (approximately 30 days a month)

(15 minutes) (Slide 11) Take the next 15 minutes to calculate how much time you think you will spend on the following activities. 

• Sleep

• School/career 

• cooking or eating

• bathroom or hygiene. 

Give guidance if they need – (slide 12) For example, calculate the average amount of time you sleep each night.  

8 hours/day x 365 days/year x 72 years = 210,240 hours of sleep in 72 years.

Convert hours to days

210,240 hours/24 = 8,760 days

Convert to months 

8,760 days / 30 days = 292 months = 24 years

Now do the same for School or career, cooking and eating, and bathroom and hygiene.  

 (Slide 13) (10 minutes) What do you see?  Share the results from some of the students’ calculations.  

Continue by pointing out the free time you have left.  Ask students what do you think will fill that time?  What types of activities do they enjoy, or what mark will they leave on the world with that time? Discuss for 5 – 10 minutes.  Transition by saying let’s watch this video about time and attention. 

Watch (Slide 14)– (10 minutes)  https://youtu.be/4TMPXK9tw5U?si=kpi5Pn9gtxLZlXUG

Say (15 minutes) Go into your phones and review your screen time for the previous week.  What was your daily average? Use the same calculations to estimate your usage in 72 years. 

For example:

3 hours a day x 365 days year x 72 years = 78,840 hours or usage in 72 years

78,840 hours / 24 hours in a day = 3,285 days

3,284 days / 30 days in a month = 109.5 months = 9.1 years

Color in your phone usage on your chart. 

Wrap up the discussion

How much time did idle scrolling take from you?  Were you productive?  Did you make a difference?  Can you change your habits? 

Exit ticket - Write down three strategies to reduce your time on your smartphone.

Lesson #2: The Attention Economy (50 minutes)

(Slide 17) Ask: (5 minutes) Why do you think platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube are free? 

The answer is simple: you are the product. Your attention is what makes money for companies.  The Center for Humane Technology explains that platforms are designed to exploit psychological vulnerabilities to increase screen time. humanetech.com

(Slide 22) (20 minutes) Watch https://youtu.be/C74amJRp730?si=Q6U8Yk-0Uhejnp51. Students will use the guided notes while watching the video.

(slide 23) Ask - What is the Attention Economy?  It is the relationship between money and attention is the cornerstone of the attention economy.  

Did you know? (slide 24) (5 minutes) 86% of your day is being monetized based on the percent of time spent on media.

(slide 24) Advertisers break down your time by the minute.  Over the past 10 years it has increased from .73 cents to $1.03 over the past 10 years.  

Your time and attention have value to these platforms in the form of advertising dollars.

(slide 26) An American adolescent’s time and attention are worth roughly $200 – $250 in advertising revenue per year to the major tech and media platforms, depending on their actual screen time and on whether you price purely digital minutes or the blended total.

(slide 27) As of 2024, there are approximately 1.3 billion adolescents worldwide, defined by the United Nations as individuals aged 10 to 19 years. This age group constitutes about 16% of the global population. (https://data.unicef.org/topic/adolescents/overview/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)

(slide 27) This means that if each of the world’s 1.3 billion adolescents generates approximately $250/year in advertising revenue, the total annual global value of adolescent attention to tech and media companies is about $325 billion USD.

Lesson #2 cont: The Attention Economy (50 minutes)

Watch – (15 minutes) The Attention Economy https://youtu.be/50R21mblLb0?si=fyMrMQig3o3IjCHv

The narrator uses profanity at 28 seconds into the video. 

(slide 30) – review the statistics from 2024.  The total time spent on social media apps per day has increased by 2 minutes per day.  

Ask – (10 minutes) How can you break the cycle?  Work with a partner to brainstorm three ways to break the scrolling cycle.  

Create – (20 minutes) Using a digital resource or tri-folding a piece of paper, create a brochure on the attention economy and ways to disconnect.  Your target audience is your peers.  Be prepared to share.

Lesson #3: Algorithms (50 minutes)

Essential question:

How do algorithms help to drive the attention economy?

Learning Intention:

Understand that algorithms learn about each user and adjust to show them content that is specialized for them.

Lesson vocabulary:

Algorithm

Dopamine loop

Lesson Materials: 

Slides

Paper

Pens/pencils

Computer

Ask: (5 minutes) What is an algorithm? Record responses on the board. Explain that it is a process or set of rules to be followed in a series of steps to solve a problem or complete a task.

Activity – (20 minutes) (slide 36) Think of a simple task.  Create an algorithm to complete that task.  Write down the steps and then have a classmate complete the task. (make a sandwich, brush your teeth, drive to a location, etc.)

Ask – (5 minutes) how do algorithms impact tech use?  

(slide 37) Explain that it is the invisible force shaping your feed. These algorithms are constantly learning: if you click on a cat video, you’ll get more cats. If you pause on drama or outrage, you’ll get more of that. Algorithms constantly learn about you based on your searches. This can be positive or negative.

(slide 38) Where are they used?

• Search engineers

• Social Media

• Streaming Services

• E commerce

• GPS navigation

• Smart parking

• Fraud detection

• Credit card processing

• Investment strategies

• Smart thermostats

• Smart Lighting

• Smart security

• Facial recognition

• Digital assistants

Watch (10 minutes) (slide 39) https://youtu.be/17e0F-OEDps?si=qfKmtKL5HTD-eYsi

(Slide 40) Discuss – Pew research reported that A large majority of U.S. teens use platforms whose feeds are algorithmically curated.

(Slide 41) What might you miss if algorithms decide what you see?  What are the benefits and drawbacks of what algorithms feed to your screen?

(slide 42). The number of teens who get their news from social media has risen from 39% to 75% since 2020.  

(Slide 43) This has led to widespread concerns that these sites' algorithms are promoting content that is attention-grabbing but ultimately harmful to users – such as misinformation, sensationalism, or “hate clicks.”

(Slide 44) Turn and talk – Do you think we get a realistic view of society through the lens of algorithm-driven content? Why or why not? Give concrete examples. Ask groups to share their ideas.  

Watch – (Slide 45) 

Exit slip – After watching the video, how do you feel? Will what you have learned change your technology habits?  Why or why not?