A photo of four students in a group, smiling and looking happy

Digital Citizenship Week is October 14–18!

Join thousands of teachers and students worldwide and celebrate in your classroom!

See our free resources
Browse all lessons
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
Sign in or join to unlock this free lesson.

Topics & Subjects

Media Balance & Well-Being Digital Citizenship
Sign in or join to unlock this free lesson.
Print or save as PDF Expand all

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

For Families

Select a resource, then open in English or Spanish.
© 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.