Hello, my name is Miss Willow and I'm going to be guiding you through today's learning.

Today's lesson is called "How Algorithms Influence What We See" and it fits into our unit called "Media Influence: "Who Decides What I Experience in the Online World." For this lesson, we recommend that you have a trusted adult with you as we're going to be covering some tricky topics in this lesson.

For example, we're going to be mentioning discrimination.

If at any point you do become uncomfortable or upset with anything that we're talking about in today's lesson, it's really important that you close the screen and that you go and speak to a trusted adult.

Okay, let's make a start on today's learning.

By the end of today's lesson, you will be able to describe how algorithms influence the content we see online.

Before we get started with today's lesson, we need to go over some ground rules.

These help to make sure that everyone stays safe and comfortable throughout today's lesson.

Laura tells us that we need to listen to others.

That means we're not going to interrupt other people if they're speaking.

Jacob says we need to not have any judgement.

That means we're not going to judge how other people feel, what they think or what they've experienced.

Andeep tells us that we need to respect each other's privacy.

That means we're not going to ask anyone any personal questions as that can make some people feel uncomfortable.

And finally, Izzy tells us that we can choose our level of participation.

That means it's up to us how much we want to join in.

We're now going to go through the keywords for today's lesson.

These words are gonna come up multiple times throughout today's lesson, so it's important that we have a really good understanding of what each word means.

An algorithm is a set of rules used or created by a computer programme.

Content.

This means posts, videos, reels, and articles put online by a content creator.

Data is detailed information stored online.

And viewpoint, this means a person's opinion or perspective, meaning their point of view.

As we go through today's lesson, keep an eye out to see if you can spot these keywords and remember what they mean.

Today's lesson is split into three learning cycles.

The first learning cycle is called "What is a Social Media Algorithm?" The second learning cycle is called "How Does Social Media Influence What We Watch?" And finally, the last learning cycle is going to be "Is everyone shown the same content online?" We're gonna make a start on our first learning cycle.

What is a social media algorithm? Algorithms are used in many ways across the internet.

There are computer programmes that make choices about what online content is suggested to us based on what we engage with online.

Lucas says that "without algorithms, the internet would be overwhelming and it would be hard to find what interests us." Algorithms are influenced by what websites we visit, the links that we click, what we search for online, where we live, and interactions on social media.

It can also be influenced by the characteristics that we have, like our gender, age, or location.

We're now going to do a check for understanding to see how you're getting on.

How do algorithms decide what online content to show us? Is it A, they only remember what we buy online? B, they remember what we talk about with others.

Or C, they notice what we engage with online.

Pause the video, tell the person next to you or tell me and have a think to yourself.

How do algorithms decide what online content to show us? Well done if you said C, they notice what we engage with online.

Well done.

It is common for people on social media to be recommended content that's similar to what they already watch.

For example, if someone watches content related to football, they might start to notice content relating to other sports on social media.

So for example, they've been watching content related to football and now they're seeing on social media that they're being shown pictures and videos of tennis.

This often happens because social media uses algorithms to understand what people are interested in and make predictions about what things online they're going to engage in.

Sam says, "It does this so it knows what content they're most likely to engage in.

Engagement includes clicking the like button, commenting on and sharing posts, following accounts and watching videos." When someone first joins a social media platform, the algorithm shows them lots of different types of content to see what grabs their attention.

It notices when they watch something, when they like something or what they comment on.

Then it shows them more of this type of content that they watched, liked, or commented on the most.

The algorithm wants you to engage as much as possible with what it shows you.

So it tries to show you things that it thinks you're going to engage in.

For example, the cycle might look a little bit like this.

Someone interacts with something on social media.

This means that the algorithm remembers what the person interacted with and it starts to find similar content that it thinks that they'll like.

The algorithm is then able to personalise what they see on social media based on their interests.

And this means that someone is constantly being shown things that they're likely to interact with on social media.

A social media feed is what someone sees when they open a social media app.

What a person's social media feed looks like can depend on lots of different things.

For example, it depends on who they follow online, what they've interacted with in the past, what their friends have interacted with, and what the algorithm thinks that they'll be interested in.

Let's do a check for understanding to see how you're getting on.

Why are social media algorithms used? Is it A, to allow people to see all of the internet? B, to show people more of what they engage with.

Or C, to make sure people don't see the same content.

What do you think? Pause the video.

Tell me, tell the person next to you or have a think to yourself.

Well done if you said B, social media algorithms are often used to show people more of what they engage with.

Well done if you got this one right.

Social media companies also collect data, which influences what content the algorithm shows people.

If someone has a social media account, even if it's set to private, the company will usually know their gender, their age, their location, their buying habits, so what things they buy online, their friends, and their phone number.

The algorithm makes lots of guesses about someone's interests based on what it already knows about them.

For example, if it knows your gender, it might suggest something like sports or beauty, depending on the assumption that it makes.

If it knows your location, it might suggest to you places to go.

If it knows your age, it might suggest to you different toys or technology and it might suggest different films. If it knows your buying habits, it might suggest to you some clothes or some makeup depending on what it thinks you're most likely to buy.

For example, if the social media algorithm knows someone's interests, it'll show them content related to it.

For example, this is Aarnav.

He likes buying clothes, so his social media feed is full of people's pictures of clothes.

He also likes animals.

So his social media feed is full of pictures of animals.

And he also likes nature.

So his social media feed is full of pictures of nature.

The algorithm is showing Aarnav these things because he often engages with them, and the algorithm is trying to show him lots of things that he'll engage with.

What we see on the internet is therefore influenced by who we are, so things like our characteristics, what we engage with, so the things that we click on.

Both of these things mean that the internet looks different for everyone, what the internet looks like for us.

Let's do another check for understanding.

This time we're going to do a true or false.

If someone has an account set to private, the social media company won't collect any of their data.

What do you think? Do you think this is true or false? Pause the video, tell the person next to you, tell me or have a think to yourself.

Well done if you said false, but why? If someone has a social media account, the social media company will often collect data about them regardless of their privacy settings.

Well done if you got this one right.

You're now going to put your learning from this learning cycle into practise.

Based on what Tom likes, I'd like you to name three examples of content that the algorithm might show him.

So this is Tom and he says, "I like playing sports, trying out different fashion styles, and my favourite animals are dogs and horses." I'd like you to come up with three examples of things that the algorithm might show him based on what he enjoys.

Pause the video, get your worksheet if you're using one, and I look forward to seeing what you come up with.

Okay, let's have a look and see what I've got and you can see if you've got something similar.

So you might have said that Tom will be shown content relating to sports.

For example, football, rugby, and netball.

And this is because he likes playing sports, so it's likely that he'll engage in sports-related content.

He might be shown content related to fashion, for example, clothes to buy, outfits or different trends.

And this is because he likes different fashion styles, so he's more likely to engage with this type of content.

And finally, you might have said that he'll be shown content relating to animals, specifically dogs and horses because these are his favourite animals, and he's likely to engage with any posts that have a dog or a horse in them or any animal.

Well done if you got those correct.

We're now going to move on to the next learning cycle.

How does social media influence what we watch? Social media algorithms, they can be useful because they mean that we typically only see content that we find interesting.

Izzy tells us that you can learn more about things that you find interesting and see things that relate to you as a result of social media algorithms. And Jun says that you can see content from people with similar viewpoints to you.

However, algorithms can mean that our experience of the internet is limited.

Jacob says, "It can be difficult to see different content if we want to." And Andeep says that "it also means that if we interact with something, even though we don't like it, the algorithm will show us more of it." Let's do a check for understanding to see how you're getting on so far.

Which is one negative, so one bad thing, of algorithms being used on social media? Is it A, we're able to find content that's interesting to us.

B, it's hard to find content that's interesting to us, or C, it's difficult to find different content if we want to.

What do you think? Pause the video.

Tell the person next to you or tell me or just have a think to yourself.

Well done if you said C.

One negative about algorithms being used on social media is that it can be difficult to find different content if we want to.

Well done if you got that one right.

Content will often get popular on social media because it's shocking, upsetting or worrying or controversial.

Controversial content involves someone voicing a shocking viewpoint, potentially because it's unpopular and people might disagree with it.

This can include content that discriminates against people, maybe because of their race or ethnicity, their gender, their sexual orientation, which is often called their sexuality, or because they have a disability.

People can sometimes engage with this online content, whether they agree with it or not.

When we engage with content online, the algorithm assumes that this means we like it and that we want to see more of it.

So for example, Sofia has seen a video that she doesn't like, so she's commented to say, "I don't like this video." But even if we comment to say that we don't like something, the algorithm will think that we liked it because we commented on it, so it'll show us similar content.

Whenever we engage with a certain type of content, the algorithm presumes that we like it and we want to see more.

So if we see content online that we really don't like, we can manage it by not watching it and telling a trusted adult.

We can report it if it breaks the social media site's rules, and some websites also have an "I don't like this" button, and this is a way of engaging with the content to tell the algorithm that you don't like what you've seen and that you don't want to see something similar.

Let's do another check for understanding.

Which of these are things that we can do if we see content that we don't like online? Is it A, comment on it to say that we don't like it? B, talk to a trusted adult.

Or C, click an "I don't like this" button if it's available.

What do you think? And remember, there might be more than one correct answer for this one, so think carefully.

Pause the video, tell the person next to you, tell me or have a think to yourself.

Which of these are things that we can do if we see content that we don't like online? Well done if you said B and C.

If we see content that we don't like online, it's important that we talk to a trusted adult and that we click an "I don't like this" button if it's available.

It's important that we don't engage with it, for example, by commenting on it, as this tells the algorithm that we liked the content and that we want to see more of it.

Well done if you got this one correct.

Someone's social media feeds can also be influenced by how their friends use social media.

So for example, Tom says, "I follow the social media accounts of pop stars online." Holly says, "I follow the social media accounts of sports players online." And if Tom and Holly follow each other on social media, they might also get shown content relating to what the other person engages with.

This is because the social media algorithm will guess that people will be interested in what their friends engage with online.

Holly says, "Sometimes I get recommended videos of pop stars on social media that I know Tom likes and I end up liking them too!" Let's do another true or false.

You're doing a fantastic job so far, so keep it up.

True or false? What people see on social media can be influenced by what their friends engage with.

What do you think? Pause the video, tell the person next to you, tell me or have a think to yourself.

Well done if you said true.

It is true that what we see on social media can also be influenced by what our friends engage with.

Well done if you got this right.

Let's put your learning from this learning cycle into practise.

Aisha and Jun's statements are incorrect.

I'd like you to rewrite them so that they are correct.

Aisha says that only content that makes people feel happy will become popular.

And Jun says that if someone comments on a post saying that they don't like it, the algorithm won't show them anything similar again.

I'd like you to rewrite these statements so that they're correct.

Pause the video, take a worksheet if you're using one, and I look forward to seeing what you come up with.

Okay, let's have a look and see what I've got and you can see if you've put something similar.

So you might have said, "Aisha says that content that's shocking, upsetting, worrying or controversial can often become popular." You might have said that Jun says that "when someone engages with content to say that they don't like it, the algorithm assumes that they like it, so will show them similar content.

Well done if you got this correct.

Let's move on to our final learning cycle.

You're doing a fantastic job so far.

You're doing a fantastic job so far, so keep it up.

We're often showing the same content as people similar to us.

Algorithms will often group users together based on their characteristics, like their gender, age, and location, and their interests.

For example, this group likes football and this group likes dancing.

Algorithms often assume that these groups will have other similar interests and that they'll engage with similar things.

Jacob says, "I like a rock band." And Sam says, "I like the same rock band, but I like another band too." It's likely that the other band that Sam likes will get recommended to Jacob as they share a common interest.

Social media algorithms can also take our characteristics into account, and Alex tells us that our characteristics are traits like our gender, age, location, and ethnicity.

Sofia says that someone's social media feeds will often show them things that other people with the same characteristic have also engaged with.

Let's do another check for understanding.

There are two Oak pupils on the screen.

I'd like you to decide who is correct.

Jacob says that social media algorithms show people with different characteristics the same content.

But Aisha says, "Social media algorithms show people with similar characteristics the same content." Which pupil is correct.

Pause the video, tell the person next to you, tell me or have a think to yourself.

Well done if you said that Aisha's correct.

Aisha is correct because social media algorithms usually show people with the similar characteristics the same content as it thinks that they're likely to engage with the same thing.

Because algorithms group people who are similar together, it means that we can often only be shown certain parts of the internet.

So Alex sees one part of the internet, Lucas sees another, Laura sees another part of the internet, and Izzy sees another part of the internet again.

Even though everyone has access to the same internet, everyone sees different content, ideas and viewpoints because of what the algorithm shows them.

What we see online can heavily influence how we see the world.

By only seeing what the algorithm thinks that we'll like, we can become unaware of different content, ideas and viewpoints.

I'd like you to have a look at what Alex has to say.

Alex says that if someone has lots of social media accounts and spends a long time online, they will see most things on the internet.

What do you think? Is Alex correct, incorrect or maybe you're not sure or somewhere in the middle.

Pause the video, tell the person next to you, tell me or have a think to yourself.

Well done if you said that Alex is incorrect.

Because of algorithms, we only see a really small amount of what is on the internet, and usually only what the algorithm thinks that we'll enjoy based on what we're interested in.

We're less likely to see content that's completely different to what we normally see.

If we only see one type of content, idea or viewpoint, we can start to think that our opinion is the only right one or that everyone thinks the same way we do.

For example, a new film has just come out.

Everyone on Alex's part of the internet says that the film is great.

Everyone on Lucas' part of the internet says that the film is rubbish.

Everyone on Izzy's part of the internet says that the film is a bad influence.

And no one on Laura's part of the internet has mentioned the film because Laura has never even heard of it.

Let's do another check for understanding.

What happens if we see the same viewpoints online? Is it A, we can think that everyone thinks the same as us? B, we're more likely to have the correct viewpoint.

Or C, we can be unaware that different viewpoints exist.

What do you think? Pause the video.

Tell the person next to you, tell me or have a think to yourself.

Well done if you said A and C.

If we see the same viewpoints online, we can often think that everyone thinks the same as us and we can be unaware that different viewpoints exist.

Just because people around us have the same viewpoints as us, it doesn't necessarily mean that we're correct.

Well done if you got this one right.

We're now gonna put your learning from this learning cycle into practise.

I'd like you to explain to the person next to you why Jun's incorrect.

Jun says that everyone has access to the same internet, so everyone will have the same information and opinions.

Pause the video, get your worksheet if you're using one, and I look forward to seeing what you come up with.

Okay, let's have a look and see what I've got, and you can see if you've got something similar.

You might have said that because of algorithms, everyone sees different parts of the internet, which are usually similar to their own viewpoints.

This means that everyone sees different information and opinions.

Well done if you said the same thing or maybe you had something similar.

We're now going to summarise everything that we've learned in today's lesson.

We've learned that algorithms decide what content's suggested to us online, and this influences what we see.

When we watch or like content, the algorithm will suggest similar content that we're more likely to enjoy, so we engage with it.

The content that's suggested to us depends on data that's collected by social media companies, often relating to our characteristics.

We're often shown the same content as people who are similar to us as the algorithm thinks that we'll enjoy the same content.

And finally, we're often unaware of other content, ideas and viewpoints because we only see a small part of the internet.

In today's lesson, we've covered some quite tricky topics.

If you need any support or if you have any questions, it's really important that you talk to a trusted adult so they can help you.

There are also some organisations on the screen who are there to support you.

Well done for your fantastic hard work today.

I'm so proud of you and I hope to see you again soon.