Helping young people deal with online polarisation

Post-X Society: technology and democracy in balance

Pieter van Boheemen is the founder and CEO of Post-X Society, a foundation that studies and designs social transitions, with the emphasis on reinforcing democracy. “We’re living through a period of fundamental change,” Pieter explains. “And transitional times often put a strain on democracy. Our aim is therefore to harness technology to reinforce democracy.”

Organised in partnership with the Dutch Institute for Sound and Vision and the Albeda College in Rotterdam, the Potje Polariseren project was the first Post-X Society initiative to be supported by SIDN Fund.

Polarisation in focus

The project was conceived in response to a paradoxical phenomenon. “Research has shown that Dutch people hold quite similar views on many subjects. Yet online interactions give the impression that we’re always at each other’s throats,” says Pieter. Observing the paradox of unanimity in the real world and deep divisions online led him to think of developing targeted teaching resources.

The resulting project focuses specifically on students at vocational upper secondary schools – a group that Pieter believes is often overlooked in the public debate. “Also, citizenship was recently made a compulsory element of the curriculum at these schools,” he continues. “But there aren’t many resources available for teaching the topic. So it seemed like the right time to develop something aligned with students’ lived experiences.”

From theory to interaction

The outcome is a teaching package with materials for 2 lessons: one on framing, the other on polarisation. An accompanying interactive tool is also available, which students can use to analyse videos themselves. The tool uses AI to detect signs of polarisation in videos on platforms such as TikTok and YouTube. The tell-tale characteristics it looks for include us-and-them thinking, stereotyping language and strongly emotional statements.

Students can upload their own videos for analysis or work with pre-selected material. “Our experience is that it’s useful if teachers make a number of videos available,” says Pieter. “Because, as soon as students pick up their phones, you might as well end the lesson.”

With the help of drama students, a number of short videos have been recorded for use as a starting point for discussion and analysis. The videos cover everything from sensitive topics like migration, to light-hearted questions such as whether it’s right to have pineapple on a pizza.

Flexibility

One of the central design principles of the teaching package is flexibility. Teachers have ample scope for adapting the lessons to suit their students or the needs of a particular course. “Vocational upper secondary education isn’t completely uniform. Every student group is different and every course has its own tone and tempo,” Pieter explains. “So we wanted to develop something that can be matched to the target audience.”

The new resources have now been incorporated into the curriculum of the Albeda College, which caters for roughly 40,000 students a year. The material is also being used by the Dutch Institute for Sound and Vision, from which teachers and schools can request a workshop on the theme.

Support from SIDN Fund

“The support provided by SIDN Fund has been vital,” Pieter emphasises. “Without it, this project simply wouldn’t have happened. The Fund enabled us to create something really professional. And they gave us a lot of help with the content too. The branding owes much to SIDN Fund as well: we initially called the project Post-Polarized Society, but changed it to Potje Polariseren on the Fund’s advice. The new name makes the material more attractive to the audience. Another thing we’ve done is put it on GitHub as open-source code, complete with teaching guides and materials.”

“Online polarisation makes debate confrontational and excludes nuance,” says SIDN Fund's Mieke van Heesewijk. “And many young people don’t have the tools they need to cope with it. So SIDN Fund is pleased to support this project. The package developed by Post-X Society teaches students to recognise polarisation and deal with it constructively. The internet should be a forum for dialogue, not division. This project helps young people to develop critical skills for online debate. We’re proud of the way Post-X Society is using AI and open-source materials to align teaching with students’ lived experiences. That dovetails perfectly with our own commitment to a stronger internet for everyone.”

Future plans

Pieter sees the current project as just the beginning. “We want to progress to addressing polarisation in a truly productive way. Rather than merely being able to recognise it, the goal is for students to learn how deal with it in a discussion. Polarisation doesn’t have to be a problem if people respond appropriately.”

The teaching package is now available and ready for immediate use. Feedback from teachers and students is also welcome. “This is just the first version,” says Pieter. “We want to see how it works in practice, and where it could be improved. We’ll then be in a position to develop the material further, for example by adapting it for use in higher education.”

Want to know more about the Potje Polariseren package? Interested in using the material in your class? Reach out to the project team via https://postex.society.