The “Courage Companion” – An AI-Supported Environment for Training Teenagers in Handling Social Media Critically and Responsibly

Aprin, Farbod; Malzahn, Nils; Lomonaco, Francesco; Donabauer, Gregor; Ognibene, Dimitri; Kruschwitz, Udo; Hernández‐Leo, Davinia; Fulantelli, Giovanni; Hoppe, H. Ulrich

doi:10.1007/978-3-031-29800-4_30

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…In particular, we propose novel approaches exploiting most recent advances in the fields of artificial intelligence and in the educational domain paired with social and media psychological insights. The basis for the tools and training-scenarios provided by the COURAGE project is a complex technical development resulting in the conceptual architecture described in [39]. Building on that, and on research questions and hypotheses derived from prior literature, various scenarios have been created and empirically evaluated by the project team.…”

Section: The Courage Projectmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Building on that, and on research questions and hypotheses derived from prior literature, various scenarios have been created and empirically evaluated by the project team. In the following, we will provide a compressed overview of the technical development (see also [39]), also referring to the role of AI, and then refer to some of our empirical investigations which are explained in more detail in [40].…”

Section: The Courage Projectmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Role of Educational Interventions in Facing Social Media Threats: Overarching Principles of the COURAGE Project

Taibi

Börsting

Hoppe

et al. 2023

Communications in Computer and Information Science

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Social media are offering new opportunities for communication and interaction way beyond what was possible only a few years ago. However, social media are also virtual spaces where young people are exposed to a variety of threats. Digital addiction, discrimination, hate speech, misinformation, polarization as well as manipulative influences of algorithms, body stereotyping, and cyberbullying are examples of challenges that find fertile ground on social media. Educators and students are not adequately prepared to face these challenges. To this aim, the COURAGE project, presented in this paper, introduces new tools and learning methodologies that can be adopted within higher education learning paths to train educators to deal with social media threats. The overarching principles of the COURAGE project leverage the most recent advances in the fields of artificial intelligence and in the educational domain paired with social and media psychological insights to support the development of the COURAGE ecosystem. The results of the experiments currently implemented with teachers and students of secondary schools as well as the impact of the COURAGE project on societal changes and ethical questions are presented and discussed.

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Section: The Courage Projectmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Courage Projectmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of Educational Interventions in Facing Social Media Threats: Overarching Principles of the COURAGE Project

Taibi

Börsting

Hoppe

et al. 2023

Communications in Computer and Information Science

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The effectiveness of a virtual learning companion for supporting the critical judgment of social media content

Aprin,

Peters,

Hoppe

2023

Educ Inf Technol

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Social media usage has become a daily habit for the younger generation. It can have positive effects on educational processes, but it also raises concerns about harmful content, such as fake news or hate speech. Fake news is often distributed with the intention to manipulate the public opinion by propagating disinformation. This includes the manipulation of images taken from reputable news resources. In response to these concerns and manipulations, we developed a web-based learning environment with a virtual learning companion (VLC). The VLC is designed to assist students in developing their critical thinking skills while interacting with social media content. The VLC is incorporated into a controlled learning environment that resembles Instagram and contains real and manipulated content. The “Courage” companion communicates with the students through chat dialogue and knowledge-activating questions. It also links additional images from web sources discovered through reverse image search based on image similarity. Learners are provided with various textual descriptions and keywords and are prompted to reflect on this information. The system’s effectiveness and assistance in identifying real or manipulated images have been evaluated in an empirical classroom study in August 2022 with 22 high school students in Germany that generated 95 conversations around five images and their texts assisted by the companion. Users’ interactions with the companion in a controlled Instagram-like social media environment have been recorded in xAPI format and then analyzed using a research dashboard. The results of this evaluation demonstrate that guidance through the VLC, along with the provision of additional content sources containing similar images and their explanation through the companion, improves the learners’ judgment. This corroborates the claim that the tool can help enhance learners’ critical thinking, resilience, and sensitivity facing social media issues.

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Excessive Use of Mobile Phones and Social Networks Among Colombian University Students

Lis-Gutiérrez,

Zapata-Patarroto

2023

ICST Transactions on Scalable Information Systems

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INTRODUCTION: Social networks facilitate interactions among individuals, organizations, and communities. Their usage, especially among young people, has become increasingly widespread. This surge in usage has been linked to various impacts on individuals' daily lives and well-being, particularly in academic and emotional aspects. OBJECTIVES: This study seeks to examine the extent to which excessive use of social networks (SN) contributes to social isolation among undergraduate students aged 18 to 35, residing in the departments of Cundinamarca, Boyaca, and Meta in Colombia. This phenomenon is primarily due to problematic cell phone use. METHODS: We administered two established instruments: the "Mobile Phone Problem Use Scale (MPPUS-10)" adapted by Foerster et al. (2015), and the "Addiction to Social Networks Questionnaire " developed by Escurra & Salas (2014). Statistical analyses included descriptive techniques, multivariate Henze-Zirkler normality test, univariate Shapiro-Wilk test, as well as non-parametric methods such as Spearman's correlation and the Kruskal-Wallis test. RESULTS: Key findings of this study include: (i) the identified intervention and mitigation strategies in the literature predominantly focus on prevention programs and family support with an emphasis on bolstering young people's self-esteem; (ii) 15.46% of the sample exhibited problematic cell phone use, with 25.96% indicating high intensity of social network use; (iii) significant differences were observed in relation to age and geographic location, while gender and socio-economic stratum did not exhibit a statistically significant impact; (iv) the statistical analysis demonstrated a positive and significant relationship with the dimensions of the Escurra & Salas (2014) instrument, namely Interest in Social Media (ISM), concern about lack of control (LC), and Excessive use of SN (EU). CONCLUSION: The Mobile Phone Problem Use Scale (MPPUS-10) emerges as a concise and effective tool for identifying problematic cell phone use, and its association with excessive social network usage underscores the interconnectedness of these behaviours. This research sheds light on the prevalence of these issues among Colombian university students and provides valuable insights for targeted intervention and support strategies, emphasizing the importance of bolstering self-esteem in youth.

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The “Courage Companion” – An AI-Supported Environment for Training Teenagers in Handling Social Media Critically and Responsibly

Cited by 3 publications

References 23 publications

The Role of Educational Interventions in Facing Social Media Threats: Overarching Principles of the COURAGE Project

The Role of Educational Interventions in Facing Social Media Threats: Overarching Principles of the COURAGE Project

The effectiveness of a virtual learning companion for supporting the critical judgment of social media content

Excessive Use of Mobile Phones and Social Networks Among Colombian University Students

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