Finding Balance in Our Digital Lives: Teacher Material
Now ask students how many of them watch videos on YouTube Kids, Netflix, or a similar app.
Ask those students: What happens when you get to the end of a video?
- Another video starts playing.
Tell students that this is called autoplay.
Ask students if they have ever watched a video because of autoplay. Then ask if they have ever watched a video just because it was the next one the app suggested.
Show students the glass full of marbles or blocks and ask: What happens to this each time you watch another video? (It fills up more.)
Now ask: Why do the people who make these apps include autoplay? (So that you will watch them for longer.)
Have students think of different ways that apps, games and devices make you use them longer.
Prompting questions:
Are there ways besides Autoplay that apps, games or devices make it hard to turn them off?
Do characters in games or apps sometimes get sad if you want to quit?
Do you sometimes get reminders from apps or games if you haven’t played or watched in a while?
Do some apps or games promise you something new, or something special, if you come back soon or play a little longer?
Do some apps or games make you feel bad if you haven’t played them in a while?
When a new video starts playing automatically after another one ends.