Mitigating the spread of online misinformation through metacognition.
Type of Presentation
Individual paper/presentation
Conference Strand
Media Literacy
Target Audience
K-12
Second Target Audience
Higher Education
Location
Session 2 Papers
Relevance
Students need to learn how to be critical of the information the access and share when online. However, most media literacy programs emphasize the cognitive (facts, bias, credibility, etc.) without considering the role of user emotions and social goals when online. I am exploring the use of a metacognitive tool that may help students become aware of how their emotions and social motivations influence their own online behavior. Over time, students may learn to pause before deciding to click, share, comment, or like when encountering online information.
Abstract
Misinformation that is consumed and shared online can make it difficult for citizens to meet basic obligations to be informed, make decisions, and be aware of how those decisions affect others. Much of this information is curated via algorithms that promote engagement regardless of content veracity. When individuals click, share, comment, and like, they become secondary gatekeepers because, by default, they help decide which content is worthy of being consumed by others. The spread of misinformation online has been attributed to, for example, vaccine hesitancy, inaction toward climate change, and a lack of trust in our electoral processes.
When addressing the spread of misinformation, online media literacy programs have mostly emphasized a cognitive (i.e., reason-based) approach that seems to ignore the influences of individual social goals and emotions. However, emotions are manipulated online and users do seek to meet social needs when online. One approach is to teach mindfulness techniques so that individuals become aware of the constant unconscious role of emotions and social goals in cognition. I am exploring the use of a metacognition tool to help students become aware of the social and emotional basis for their online behaviors, with the goal of becoming mindful of the information they access and share.
Presentation Description
If we're supposed to fact-check before we engage with online content, then why don't we? Maybe we're letting those pesky algorithms call the shots. What can we do about it? I propose a metacognition tool that allows us to become aware of how those algorithms push our emotional and social buttons.
Keywords
misinformation, disinformation, metacognition, online media literacy, emotional, social, cognitive
Publication Type and Release Option
Event
Recommended Citation
Gabaree, Sean, "Mitigating the spread of online misinformation through metacognition." (2022). Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy. 21.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/gaintlit/2022/2022/21
Mitigating the spread of online misinformation through metacognition.
Session 2 Papers
Misinformation that is consumed and shared online can make it difficult for citizens to meet basic obligations to be informed, make decisions, and be aware of how those decisions affect others. Much of this information is curated via algorithms that promote engagement regardless of content veracity. When individuals click, share, comment, and like, they become secondary gatekeepers because, by default, they help decide which content is worthy of being consumed by others. The spread of misinformation online has been attributed to, for example, vaccine hesitancy, inaction toward climate change, and a lack of trust in our electoral processes.
When addressing the spread of misinformation, online media literacy programs have mostly emphasized a cognitive (i.e., reason-based) approach that seems to ignore the influences of individual social goals and emotions. However, emotions are manipulated online and users do seek to meet social needs when online. One approach is to teach mindfulness techniques so that individuals become aware of the constant unconscious role of emotions and social goals in cognition. I am exploring the use of a metacognition tool to help students become aware of the social and emotional basis for their online behaviors, with the goal of becoming mindful of the information they access and share.
