Empowering Digital Discernment: Designing and Testing Real-time Critical Thinking Nudges for Adolescent Social Media News Engagement

Research on critical thinking in social media environments has revealed a significant discrepancy between users' awareness of its importance and their actual behaviors, particularly among adolescents. In attention-competitive social media environments, young users often overlook critical thinking when engaging with content, despite recognizing its value. This gap is especially concerning for news consumption, as it impacts adolescents' understanding of current events and civic discourse. The disparity arises because an overwhelming array of social media elements vie for users' attention, overshadowing analytical thinking. Traditional educational efforts, often integrated into media literacy programs, provide a crucial foundation by imparting knowledge and skills about media and content credibility within a classroom context. However, they fall short in prompting critical thinking during real-time social media engagement.
To address this gap, real-time intervention is needed. Digital nudges—subtle elements
imbedded in user interfaces that guide behavior without restricting choices—have shown
effectiveness in changing user behavior in domains such as energy conservation and
online privacy maintenance. Previous studies have showcased the potential of nudges in
guiding users' attention towards critical thinking, but research in this area remains
limited. This study proposes to investigate digital nudges as a strategy to redirect
adolescents' attention to critical thinking when engaging news on social media.
The project will design and test critical thinking nudges as visual cues and interactive
elements within social media interfaces. These nudges will focus on: (1) encouraging
skills including cross-referencing sources, fact-checking visual content, and seeking
social verification; and (2) fostering awareness of users' shared responsibility in
promoting authentic information dissemination.
We propose a mixed- method approach with the research to be conducted in two phases.
Phase 1 (Qualitative Exploration; N=60) involves creating mock-up nudges and
gathering user feedback through focus groups with adolescents. The insights gained will
inform the refinement of nudge presentation and placement in Phase 2 (Experimental;
N=280), which employs a 3 (between-subject skill) x 2 (between-subject shared
responsibility) x 2 (within-subject news authenticity) experimental design with a control
group. A simulated Instagram interface will be developed to capture participants' critical
thinking and engagement with the nudges. The expected outcomes include the development of Open Educational Resources, community educational activities, and dissemination of research findings. This research aims to contribute to the development of evidence-based digital real-time intervention tailored to young social media users, empowering them to navigate the complex social
media landscape and fostering a more discerning digital society.