The solution
Our solution was Hacked!, designed to educate younger children (8-12) on the topic, whilst encouraging collaboration. We conducted existing market research and which was used to inform and guide design decisions. Despite many solutions to online problems also existing online, we used lateral thinking to bring these issues into the more tangible physical world, embodying them as characters that the children can interact with. Using appropriate design solutions, we created an interactive, collaborative and fun approach to unpacking the topic of misinformation that can be used to supplement existing curriculums on internet safety and digital literacy.
The brief set by the RSA was called 'Bridging the divide, and challenged entrants to bridge societal divides that appear online by supporting social connection, collective action and reducing polarisation. After much research, the problem we chose to address was the idea that algorithms, such as those that control user profiling and search engine ranking had a significant impact on internet users subconscious biases, yet this was not something widely understood or being addressed in cultural conversations. We recognised those most vulnerable to these influences as children aged 8-12, who have just begun using the internet.
