We need new digital skills

Anastasia Kozyreva conducts research at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development on strategies for better use of online media. Private - According to Statista, people in Germany spend around five and a half hours online every day. Many realize that this isn't good for them, but can't manage to turn off the computer or put away the cell phone. Researchers from Berlin, Stanford and Bristol have developed a strategy to make this easier. Anastasia Kozyreva, co-author and researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development, explains how it can help people gain more control over their own online media use. Ms. Kozyreva, why do we spend so much time on social media and fall for fake news or sensationalism so easily? Anastasia Kozyreva : We humans are social beings, and since time immemorial it has been vital for us to receive and pass on information from our community. Negative news, or even very emotional news, particularly catches our attention because it warns us of potential danger or gives us a clue when others in our group need help. This has worked well for millennia. But for the past few years, we've been living in a whole new world when it comes to information. Online media and especially the SocialMedia platforms flood us with news. We are supposed to spend as much time as possible on the platforms or websites so that the providers can place as much advertising as possible. To do this, they use the old mechanisms with which they attract our attention. We haven't had time to adapt to that. That's why we need new digital skills that meet the challenges in the digital world. My colleagues and I believe that critical ignoring is just as important a competence there as critical thinking. How does critical ignoring work?