Digital Media and Your Brain

Which of the following best describes a feedback loop?

• A set of design features that helps users keep media balance.

• A personal habit that you develop when you start using social media.

• A response to something you do online that causes your brain to experience a temporary moment of pleasure.

• When you and a classmate give feedback on each other's assignment.

What is one example of Humane Design?

• Rewards increase as you play

• Regular alerts asking if you want to quit

• Penalties for leaving the app

What is an example of Addictive design?

• Autoplay and countdown features

• Suggestions for offline activities

• Settings to control the number of activities

Marie downloaded an app that lets her connect with friends who like to run. The app has a leaderboard, and each person gets points based on how much they run during the week. What should Marie consider when thinking about whether to receive notifications from the app?

• Do the notifications motivate her to go for a run?

• Do the notifications distract her from doing other things she needs to do?

• Do the notifications make her feel like she always needs to check the app?

• All of the above.

Lin wants to play an online game with her friends. She reads the description of the game and realizes it contains features like rewards for completing levels and penalties for quitting the game early. She likes the game, but doesn't want to get sucked in and skip her homework. (This has happened before!) What can Lin do to balance playing the game and doing her homework?

• Invite more friends to play the game.

• Play the game and finish her homework late at night.

• Set a timer so she plays for a specific amount of time.

• Watch her favorite show instead of playing the game.

How confident do you feel in understanding how digital media tries to hook you and what you can do about it?

• I feel very confident.

• I feel somewhat confident.

• I do not feel confident.