Student learning · Grades 9–12 · 50 minutes
Notifications on Trial
A teen and a parent put their phones' notifications and feeds on trial, auditing which alerts actually serve them and which are engineered to pull them back, then pass sentence together on what earns a place on the screen.
A lot of screen use is not chosen; it is summoned. Notifications, autoplay, infinite feeds, streaks, and red badges are design choices meant to pull you back and keep you scrolling, and they work on adults as well as teens. This activity teaches students to see those persuasion techniques and then puts them on trial. A teen and a parent each audit their own phone: which notifications and feed features genuinely serve them (a text from a person, a calendar alert) and which are engineered hooks dressed up as helpful. Then, like a jury, they pass sentence on each one, keep, silence, or turn off, and redesign their defaults so the device serves the user instead of the other way around. The tone is balanced and empowering, not anti-technology: notifications and feeds can be genuinely useful, and the skill is telling the difference and taking back the defaults. Because parents fall for the same design, they audit alongside, making it a shared reckoning rather than a lecture.
In this packet
- Handout A: The Persuasion Playbook (reading)
- Handout B: Notification Audit (organizer)
- Handout C: The Verdict and Redesign (worksheet)
TCEA ELE indicators
- AI4.1 I know how to promote critical thinking skills in relation to AI-generated information.
- S2.2 I can identify trustworthy sources of information on the internet.
- S4.1 I know how to take responsibility for my own learning.
- S4.3 I am aware of my learning strengths and areas for improvement.
Full facilitator guide: mglearn.github.io/eles/activities/notifications-on-trial.html
Handout A for Notifications on Trial
The Persuasion Playbook
Read each technique. In the margin, write one app you use that does it and what the design wants you to do. These are design choices, not accidents, and they work on adults too.
1Apps compete for your attention, and the ones that win are usually the ones best at pulling you back. Here are the most common techniques. Knowing their names makes them easier to resist.
2VARIABLE REWARDS: Like a slot machine, you pull (refresh, scroll, open) and sometimes get something good, a like, a funny clip, a message, and sometimes nothing. The maybe is what hooks you; unpredictable rewards are the hardest to stop chasing.
3BADGES AND COUNTS: The little red number is designed to feel like an itch you must scratch. Clearing it feels good, so you open the app, which is exactly what the badge was for. Most badges count app activity, not a real person needing you.
4STREAKS: Keep a streak going for days and the app has turned stopping into a loss. You are no longer using it because you want to, but because quitting would cost you something the app invented.
5AUTOPLAY AND INFINITE SCROLL: Remove every natural stopping point. The next video starts itself; the feed never ends. Without a finish line, you keep going past when you meant to stop.
6SOCIAL NUDGES: "Someone is active now," "so-and-so posted," "people are waiting for your reply." These use your care about other people to pull you back on the app's schedule, not yours.
7THE TEST FOR EVERY ALERT: Does this serve ME (a real person contacting me, a real event, something I actually asked for) or serve the APP (pulling me back, clearing a badge, keeping a streak)? That one question is the whole trial.
Handout B for Notifications on Trial
Notification Audit
One sheet for you, one for your parent or guardian. Open your real settings together. List the notifications and feed features you get most, mark who they serve, and name the technique. Leave the verdict for the next page. Family note: audit your OWN phone too, the same design targets adults.
| Notification or feed feature | Serves ME or the APP? | Which playbook technique? | How often it pulls me in |
|---|---|---|---|
Handout C for Notifications on Trial
The Verdict and Redesign
Pass sentence on each audited item, then actually change the settings now. Keep = leave on. Silence = keep the info but no buzz or badge. Off = turn it off. Compare with your parent's results.
Items I voted KEEP (they serve a real person or real event) and why:
Items I voted SILENCE (useful but no need to buzz or badge me) and why:
Items I voted OFF (they serve the app, not me) and why:
Feed defaults I changed (autoplay, infinite scroll, streaks) and one feed habit I'll change:
What surprised me about my parent's audit compared with mine:
How the phone feels now, and the date we'll check whether the changes held: