Online Safety: What Parents and Carers Need to Know about persuasive design online (8.3.24)
Welcome to our weekly online safety bulletin! Each week of the school term, we will provide useful tips, facts and guides on how to stay safe online.
This week's theme is: Persuasive Design Online
For many companies who operate in the online space, attention and engagement are the holy grail. Social media sites in particular make deliberate creative choices to keep people scrolling, reading, watching and clicking. This phenomenon is known as ‘persuasive design’ and it’s being employed in the vast majority of the digital world’s most popular destinations.
A study by the charity 5Rights Foundation concluded that “…the brain's response to rewards and punishments can be leveraged through persuasive design to keep children online.” This guide can help to educate youngsters on the effects of persuasive design – and suggests ways to insulate themselves from its influence.
Useful links:
Internet Matters - This website has lots of practical advice and information, including detailed guides on how to set up parental controls on a range of devices.
Childnet - Help, advice and resources for parents and carers
Parent Zone - Digital advice, activities and ideas for parents and families
NSPCC - Online Safety advice, guides and news.
Visit our Online Safety page for more information.
Missed an update? Head over to our Online Safety Tip of the Week archive.
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