The Anti-Filter Bubble Application: Designing Activities to Raise Awareness of Filter Bubbles in Secondary Education
Summary
The polarising effect of social media and filter bubbles is a threat to modern society and democracy. The anti-filter bubble application aims to increase the digital literacy of teenagers in secondary education, to increase awareness of filter bubbles, and make students aware of the dangers they bring along. In this research, two activities for the application are designed, accompanied by an overall concept for the application. This research aims to find out how to design activities that effectively integrate into secondary education.
Semi-structured interviews were performed during two pre-studies, based on which requirements were established and two initial storyboards were designed. The iterative design process resulted in two prototypes for activities. During various iterations, 27 students and 15 teachers gave feedback on the prototypes in interviews and focus groups. Activity 2 was evaluated to find out whether collaboration would improve the knowledge of algorithms and the game experience. Six students played the activity alone, and three students played together as a group. Two interviews with teachers were conducted to gain additional insights.
The results of the evaluation with students are not conclusive given the low sample size. Based on the interviews with teachers, it is recommended to play Activity 2 collaboratively, because the value of the activity is in the discussion. Additionally, this research contributes recommendations for the design of educational applications. The designed activities can be further developed to be included in the antifilter bubble application, and the recommendations can help others who design similar applications for teenagers in secondary education.