As your students navigate the digital world, it’s crucial that they recognize how websites and apps might be subtly manipulating their decisions. Empower your students with an engaging video podcast and reflection worksheet about how digital literacy and financial literacy meet! Tune in as Professor Jasmine McNealy dives into the world of dark patterns—tricks used by websites and apps to influence how we spend our money, time, and attention without us even realizing it...

Professor Jasmine McNealy is a tech and data researcher at the University of Florida. She was the Keynote Speaker at NGPF's Back to School Conference on August 24, 2024. You can check out that session here if you missed it! Jasmine knows the hidden tactics used by websites and apps to get us to spend money or share personal data. From tricky pop-ups to the doom scroll or infinite scroll, this episode is packed with examples that are sure to resonate with your students.

Whether they're dodging sneaky subscription traps or wondering why that “X” button on a pop-up is so hard to find, this episode is perfect for sparking conversations about online safety and digital mindfulness in your classroom. 

Use This Resource in Your Classroom:

1. Access these teacher presentation slides that pair with Season 3, Episode 3
2. Print copies of the student listening guide for your students or share the file digitally
3. Play the YouTube video from a big screen for the whole class, or give students the choice to watch or listen at their own devices (earplugs needed)
4. Use questions from the listening guide to facilitate a classroom conversation about how students can apply the tips from the episode to their own lives.

This episode aligns perfectly with content from NGPF’s Consumer Skills and Behavioral Economics resources, helping your students recognize and resist the tricks designed to influence their decisions online.

Catch all episodes of "Financially Inclined" on YouTube or your favorite podcast platform, and equip your students with the skills to navigate the digital world smartly and safely. Let’s help them be in control of their experiences online! 

About the Author

Yanely Espinal

Born and raised by Dominican, immigrant parents in Brooklyn, Yanely is a proud product of NYC public schools. She graduated from Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School in 2007 before going on to receive her bachelor's degree at Brown University in 2011. As a Teach For America corps member, Yanely taught third and fourth grade in Canarsie, Brooklyn. She received her master's degree from Relay Graduate School of Education in 2013. She spends her spare time making YouTube videos about personal finance on her channel, MissBeHelpful. Yanely also loves to dance, sew, paint, listen to podcasts, and babysit her 10 nieces and nephews!

More posts by Yanely