CCST9076

Attention Magnet: The Psychological and

Technological Aspects of Social Media Addiction

Tutorial 1: Introduction
Tutor: Eric, Haohua Liu
liuhh@hku.hk

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Tutorial Outline
Tutorial content and topics
Session Topic
1 (25, 26 Jan) Introduction
2 (1, 2 Feb) Understanding of "FoMO"
3 (22, 23 Feb) Debate Preparation
4 (29 Feb, 1 Mar) 1st Debate “Should users or social media platforms hold the accountability for
social media addiction?”
5 (14, 15 Mar) Reflect on the 3 Day No Social Media Challenge
6 (21, 22 Mar) 2nd Debate “should there be regulations on the use of generative AI in social
media content? ”
7 (28 Mar, 5 Apr) Reflections & Changes on Social Media Usage
8 (11, 12 Apr) Group project preparation
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Tutorial 1

1. Brief discussion & know each other

2. Course assessments
a. Assessment & Timeline
b. Debates (Introduction & Perusall reading)
c. 3-day no social media challenge (Introduction & Reflective report)
d. Group project
(Introduction, presentation, wiki report & peer evaluation)

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Brief discussion & know each other
1. Self-introduction
2. What specific activities or content on your most frequently used social media
platform activate your "reward circuit"?
3. What are your expectations for this course?
a. What do you expect to learn/achieve from this course and the tutorials?

https://padlet.com/haohualiu2000/tutorial-1-q2sj25mgow5ncpca

Debate skills?
Psychology theories?

Meeting friends?

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Timeline & Course activity & Assessment
Date Course activity Weighting

1 Feb, 2 Feb Sign up debate (During the 2nd Tutorial)

7 Feb Forming groups

12 Mar Reflective report 30%

Before each debate

Debate preparation (Perusall reading)
(28 Feb, 27 Mar)
20%
Tutorial 4(29 Feb, 1 Mar) &
Debate
Tutorial 7(28 Mar, 5 Apr)

17 Apr Group Report Final Submission 30%

17 Apr Group Presentation 10%

19 Apr Reflection and peer assessment 10%

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The debates
- 2 debate sessions during tutorial sessions 4 and 7
- Attendance to both sessions is mandatory, however, each student is only
required to participate in one debate.
- You will sign up for your debate session during Tutorial 2 where teams will be
organized.
- In each debate session, there will be 6 students divided into two teams, each
defending one side of an argument related to the topic.
- Each debate will take around 26~ minutes.

Further details will be introduced during the third tutorial (tutorial 3).

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 Perusall Reading
As you enter the course Perusall page, you will find several articles related to the debate
topics. Please choose two articles from the list to read, annotate, comment, and reply.
(You will also find additional readings under “other resources”, comments on those will
NOT be graded)
Write a short summary note (~150 words) for each article read.
You are highly encouraged to review and comment on the other peers’ annotations. Please
be reminded you will not be marked if you read the article without leaving any annotation.
Deadline : Please complete the reading on Persuall before the corresponding debate date.

Go to Moodle, click “Perusall”, read the course description.

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How to take a good perusall collaborative reading
1. Choose and read the required articles
2. Annotate the article
3. Comment on existing annotations
4. Reply to other students comments in your conversation box
5. Write down your summary of the article in tutor’s conversation box

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3-Day No Social Media Challenge
L7 will adopt the approach of experience-based learning, you will be asked to
participate in a 3-day no social media challenge during the reading week.
During the 3-day challenge:
You should not use any social media platform such as Facebook, Instagram,
Twitter, Weibo, Tiktok, Wechat (moments), etc
You will...
1. Write a daily reflective report based on your personal experiences and
feelings,
2. Reflect on the obstacles you encountered,
3. Only communicate with others via phone call, instant message, or email,
4. Be earnest!
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3-Day No Social Media Challenge - Reflective Report
(30%)
You may refer to the following questions while reflecting on your experience during the
3-day no social media challenge:

1. Which social media apps did you try to stop using during the 3-days? Did you
complete the challenge successfully? If not, how long did it take you to give up?
2. What happened during the challenge? What did you observe/feel/question about
yourself during the 3-day challenge? Did you notice any changes in your life?
3. Were there any strategies you tried to use for refraining yourself from using social
media during the 3-day?
4. Would you like to continue the challenge for a longer time period? and why?

Submit your report (900-1200 words) by 12 March (23:59)

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Group Project - Introduction
In groups of (no more than) 6, you will create a Wiki page articulating the characteristics, technological
features and roles in people’s daily life of social media will be in the future. You will…

1) Set up your group and complete a group collaboration plan (By 9 Feb);

2) Decide on the new social media platform that your group would like to design, the rationale for
developing the platform, and the platform’s purpose (By 1 Mar);

3) Develop core features and technical infrastructures of the platform and develop a sketch of the user
interface (By 22 Mar);

4) Discuss any ethical concerns as well as the impacts of the new platform on the well-being of individuals
and society at large (By 5 Apr);

5) Wrap up the report and deliver the final presentation (By 19 Apr);

You should register your group through Moodle, the grouping should be completed by 7 Feb. Forming
groups WITHIN tutorials is highly recommended.

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Group Project - Wiki Page (30%, Grading by group)
In this project, you will edit a Wiki page (accessible on Moodle) with your group members. The
Wiki page allows students to see and edit each others’ contributions while adding new sections
and content of their own. Students must finalize their Wiki page by the morning of their
presentation (17 Apr), and upload a soft copy to Turnitin to check for originality.
Please work closely with your group members and complete the wiki page for each step by the
suggested deadline to ensure steady progress throughout the semester. Regular updates are
helpful for us to provide you with timely and useful feedback and reflection. You can still edit,
polish, and finalize your wiki page after the suggested deadline of each step and before the
final group report submission due date (April 17). Only the final submitted group report will be
graded.
The word limit for your Wiki page is 2500 words. There is no penalty for exceeding the word
limit for your report. You can insert images/figures in your group wiki page. Wiki pages with
clean layout and effective structure will help draw attention from the audience. Your final
product should display both high clarity and creativity with the help of figures, tables, headings
and colors. Citations are required.
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Group Project - Wiki Page (30%, Grading by group)
Suggest:
● Periodic Updates
Regularly update your work to reflect ongoing progress and improvements.
● Timely Feedback
Seek and incorporate suggestions and critiques from lecturers and tutors promptly.
● Direct Collaboration on Moodle Wiki
Use Moodle’s wiki feature to manage and co-author content directly within the platform.
● Collective Writing and Editing
Engage in a shared writing process, allowing for joint editing and finalization of content.
Avoid:
● Last-Minute Work
Do not wait until just before the deadline to complete group reports. This leads to a lack of feedback,
poor experiences, and potentially substandard results.
● Isolated Collaboration
Avoid working in separate workspaces or updating content on wiki page by a single person. Aim for
real-time collaboration. 14
 Kindful Reminder
Not 100% synchronous

Start editing in the same time

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Group Project - Presentation & Peer evolution
Group presentations will be delivered during the last lecture of the course on Apr 17, 2024.
(10%, Grading by group)
Students are invited to present their own envision of a future of social media.
Solve these two key questions:
What would the future of social media be like
How would us as users adapt to this rapid development of digital technologies (e.g. Generative
AI techniques, metaverse)?

Reflection & Peer Evaluation (10%, Grading by individual)

You also needs to complete a reflection and peer assessment form to reflect the collaborative
learning experience and evaluate your group members’ performance. The deadline is Apr 19,
2024.
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Next week, we will

- Organize teams and debate sign-up

- Understanding of "FoMO"
- Have you ever experienced FoMO?
- Understanding aspects of FoMO

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