Viral Sphere: Fostering healthy social media practice through playful simulation

Viral Sphere: Fostering healthy social media practice through playful simulation

Viral Sphere: Fostering healthy social media practice through playful simulation

Jacob F. Davis, Hannah G. Gaudesen, Nina Genster, Simone L. Rasmussen, Johan K. Sørensen, Emanuela Marchetti

Abstract

"In this paper, we present the development of a learning game, Viral Sphere, aimed at stimulating discussions on the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) among secondary school students and educators. Our game consists of a fictional social media platform, displaying a network diagram to illustrate the spreading of data. Our design aims at promoting informed decision making, through interactive scenario-based learning. Players navigate real-life inspired situations, simulating posting on social media platforms and related consequences, as data spread beyond their immediate network. Data from testing with students, shows that our gameplay can facilitate meaningful conversations about GDPR in a relatable manner."

Reference

Davis, J. F., Gaudesen, H. G., Genster, N., Rasmussen, S. L., Sørensen, J. K., & Marchetti, E. (2024). Viral Sphere: Fostering healthy social media practice through playful simulation. In *Proceedings of the 18th European Conference on Games Based Learning* (Vol. 18, pp. 1025-1029). Academic Conferences and Publishing International. https://doi.org/10.34190/ecgbl.18.1.2733

Keywords

gdpr, game-based learning, social networks, social media