A female elementary student wearing headphones smiles while working with her teacher on a classroom digital tablet.

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Lesson

Design Tricks

How is tech designed to hold our attention, and how can it impact our well-being?

Grades

9–12

Time

45 mins.
Objectives:

  • Understand how and why tech companies use certain design tricks to hold our attention.

  • Consider the app features that hinder and promote well-being.

  • Reflect on how the goal of an app informs the way it is designed.

Vocabulary Show definitions
digital well-being · design tricks · user experience
digital well-being – experiencing media and technology in ways that support one's mental, physical, social, and emotional health
design tricks – features that technology companies use (like endless scrolling and autoplay) to capture user attention by playing on our psychology
user experience – how a user interacts with and experiences an app, website, system, or service
Lesson video
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Lesson Plan

45 mins.
© 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: July 2023

What You'll Need

In Class

© 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: July 2023

This lesson was co-created with the Center for Digital Thriving at Harvard Graduate School of Education in collaboration with KQED.