xpost: Teaching kids to recognize opinion in a "but it's on the internet" world

[Maus]

Sorry about the length. I'm not quite sure how to articulate what we are looking for.

 

Background: My DS is 9.5 and we are having some issues with him seeing things on the internet, and to some extent, hearing things from older kids/adults, that he takes literally, as fact. Then he lies awake at night worrying. A couple of examples:

 

At church, there is a young man in his twenties who lives with his parents because he is functionally more like a young teen (maybe on the spectrum, I don't know). We gave this kid a ride to a church campout, and on the way, got talking about Disney. The kid said that Disneyland Paris was going out of business, and he knew that because he read about it. My son got really upset. When the young man was no longer with us, we explained that there had been a rumor, but that Disney had adapted to the local culture and now is doing fine in Paris. He had a hard time with that because the kid had spoken like he knew what he was talking about.

 

Another time, DS came across some YouTube videos that "showed" giant whirlpools opening up in otherwise calm water. When he showed them to me, they looked clearly doctored, but he can't see it. He now worries that one will open up and swallow us all.

 

He has many bedtime worries based on things he's seen or heard. When he was younger, it was easier, because he'd take my (or DH's) opinion as more authoritative than random strangers, so we could just say, "That's not true." But now we just a couple of grownups offering our opinion which isn't any more valid than "the guy who made the video."

 

The questions:

At what age do kids make the shift from taking the world at face value? Does it come with the Logic stage?

 

Are there any resources out there to help teach that people commonly state their opinions as if they were fact (and sometimes create visual "proof" to back themselves up)? And how can a person can learn to sort that out?

 

Thanks.

[Guest submarines]

My kids (10 and 7) know not to trust anything they see on-line. We discuss sources of information. We discuss reasons information might be presented on-line. We are used to researching and double checking. Even if they watch a docomentary on bugs done by National Geographic, they will ask me whether certain things are facts or opinions. And I'd reply that they are probably facts, to the best of someone's research ability at that particular time. Even documentaries about facts make mistakes.

 

Honestly, they take my word over the Internet, any time. ;) And they are becoming really adept at analysing advertisement.

[Julie in Austin]

Maybe you could find two completely opposing website and go through both with him, to demonstrate that one of them must be false?

 

Maybe the recent "pink slime" controversy? JFK assassination? Whether "corn sugar" is any worse than regular sugar? Romney and Obama websites? What caused the Salem witch trials? There's no end to examples of dueling narratives out there . . .

[Calendula]

You know, there is a website out there for kids that actually demonstrates this exact circumstance - just because it is on the internet, doesn't mean it is true. I'll try to find it - maybe someone will chime in.

[tntgoodwin]

Out of curiosity, why did the prospect of Disneyland Paris shutting down upset him so much? :confused:

 

One thing you can do is watch behind the scenes features on movies and TV shows that show how they do special effects. Also, check out Video Copilot. It is a website that has tutorials for various special effects. That may help with video stuff, if he realizes how easy it is to fake something.

 

Another thing you might do is try to explain things like bias, and how it affects peoples perception of reality. Echoing a pp, maybe you can try showing opposing articles or viewpoints on various topics.

[Bang!Zoom!]

Library Science is an area that deals with this. Here is a quick first link that deals with it.

 

http://virtualchase.justia.com/other-resources/information-quality

 

I don't know if your kids are ever *more* impressed by hearing it from a librarian vs. mom (my daughter is this way :lol:) - but it's an idea that has worked here.

 

Something else that has really helped and developed well here is the idea of collecting primary resources of quality and only using those. I think it's a skill that needs to build up, sounds like it's the right time to get after this with your kids. Good luck.

[PIE!]

Maybe look around a bit at snopes.com - or watch a few mythbusters episodes :D

[MomatHWTK]

I would teach research skills. Introduce primary and secondary sourcing, evaluating sources, and finding corraborating data. You might take a look at some of the high school logic and and critical thinking resources, then you can rephrase the information in a way that your 9 y.o. can understand.

 

Here are some resources that might help:

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/search?keyword=fact+opinion&seltype=0&orderby=Price&seltype=1&subjectarea=2

 

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/A-Teachers-Handbook-to-Inquiry-Learning

 

This site looks helpful:

http://www.middleschooldebate.com/resources/teachingresearch.htm

Edited June 7, 2012 by MomatHWTK

[Maus]

Thanks, everyone! Lots of good ideas. We'll probably use most of them over the next months!

 

Out of curiosity, why did the prospect of Disneyland Paris shutting down upset him so much? :confused:

He has it in his head that he wants to visit every Disney park someday, and he knows I love Europe, so he thinks that Disney Paris would be the perfect family vacation.

[Wendi]

Just thought I'd chime in with a different POV. :-) To me, the bigger issue seems to be his anxiety. It's a good idea to talk about how to determine when a source is reliable, but if he's lying awake worrying about things regularly, that's a problem. Do you see other signs of anxiety? (Being distracted, easily upset, stomach problems, etc.)

 

Sounds like he also could be kind of intense, and have trouble shifting gears or letting go of what *he* thinks is true once he makes up his mind.

 

I could be way off, but I just thought I'd chime in.

 

Wendi

[Guest submarines]

You could try the website For the Pacific Tree Octopus It was created for this kind of purpose.

 

 

How would you use this site? Would you let your child read and research and then ask questions, or would you tell your child that the site is fake right from the beginnig? I'd like to explore different approached. Thanks. DD is 10, and I would like to show it to her.

[lionfamily1999]

I would teach research skills. Introduce primary and secondary sourcing, evaluating sources, and finding corraborating data. You might take a look at some of the high school logic and and critical thinking resources, then you can rephrase the information in a way that your 9 y.o. can understand.

 

I agree. Thinking Toolbox is a good source for young logic too. One of the first rules they teach is, "Just because somesone said it does not make it true." With my older two we would look into claims, a simple ask.com search could clear up some things and a quick trip to the dictionary or encyclopedias others. My youngest has started noticing psas and we discuss them. I shy away from making the kids assume I am automatically right and try to get them to find the answer themselves. So, we talk things through, look it up and let them make their own opinions.

[tntgoodwin]

Thanks, everyone! Lots of good ideas. We'll probably use most of them over the next months!

 

He has it in his head that he wants to visit every Disney park someday, and he knows I love Europe, so he thinks that Disney Paris would be the perfect family vacation.

 

Ahh, that makes sense. Thanks!