Informative Synthesis — Sources & Resources

🔷 Technology, Society & Culture — General & Foundational

Symbols, Values & Norms: Crash Course Sociology #10 Video A foundational framework for analyzing how technology fits into — and changes — social structures. A good starting point for almost any topic in this essay.
A Few Rules for Predicting the Future — Octavia E. Butler Reading
A History of Panic Over Entertainment Technology — Behavioral Scientist Reading
The Sisyphean Cycle of Technology Panics Reading
The Perfect Match — Ken Liu (short story) Fiction A sci-fi story about AI, convenience, and surveillance — uncomfortably close to home. Works for almost any connected society topic.
The Pedestrian — Ray Bradbury (short story) Fiction
Just Do It (short story) Fiction — Audio version Podcast
Rocket Surgery — Effie Seiberg (short story, read aloud) Video
The Illusion of Truth — Veritasium Video How repetition makes things feel true — the illusory truth effect. Useful for essays on media, advertising, misinformation, or propaganda.
Why People Are So Confident When They're Wrong Video Connects to misinformation, media literacy, and how we form — and defend — false beliefs.
Truth vs. Reality: How We Evolved to Survive, Not to See What's Really There — Donald Hoffman | Big Think Video 27 min. A deeper look at how perception shapes what we think is real — connects to media, advertising, and misinformation.
Google, Facebook, Amazon: The Rise of the Mega-Corporations — DW Documentary Documentary 42 min. Also relevant to Privacy & Data and Advertising sections.
The Shitthropocene: Welcome to the Age of Cheap Crap — Patagonia Documentary 46 min. Consumer culture, advertising, and environmental/social consequences of disposable goods.

🧠 Social Media, Identity & Mental Health

Friend or Faux: Are Parasocial Relationships Healthy? — Cleveland Clinic Reading
Parasocial Relationships Can Tell Us a Lot about the Social Brain — Scientific American Reading
Beauty Filters Are Changing the Way Young Girls See Themselves — MIT Technology Review Reading
Understanding Social Media Literacy: A Systematic Review — International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health Reading
Americans' Social Media Use — Pew Research Center Reading
What AI Teaches Us About Good Writing — Noema Magazine Reading
Is Beauty Culture Hurting Us? — Vox, Glad You Asked S1 Video 20 min. Social media, beauty standards, and identity. Also addresses advertising and gender.
How ChatGPT Slowly Destroys Your Brain — Justin Sung Video 17 min.
Why Did Our Friends Stop Posting on Social Media? — BBC Global Video 9 min.
People Are Partying Less. Here's Why That's Worrying. — BBC Global Video 14 min. Social isolation, technology, and changing social habits.
The Great Friendship Collapse: Inside The Anti-Social Century — Derek Thompson | Big Think Video 12 min.
Why You Should Stop Watching YouTube (Yes, Even This Video) — HealthyGamerGG Video 10 min. Screen time, dopamine, and mental health.
Why People Are Falling in Love with A.I. Companions — 60 Minutes Australia Video 20 min. Also relevant to parasocial relationships and AI topics.
I Study the Future. We Should Pay Attention to Avatars — Sinead Bovell | TEDxRutgersCamden Video 13 min. Digital identity, avatars, and where technology is taking us.
Toxic Femininity in Barbie — Therapist Reacts! — Georgia Dow Video 17 min. Media representation, gender norms, and identity.
Redefining Masculinity & Embracing Vulnerability — The Daily Show Video 55 min. Gender, identity, and social norms.
Why Are People Starting to Sound Like ChatGPT? — Adam Aleksic | TED Video 5 min. AI's influence on language and communication.
Are We Cooked? How Social Media Shapes Language — Adam Aleksic | TED Video 14 min.
Is Social Media Censorship Unaliving Language? — Storied Video 7 min.

📱 Phones, Schools & Young People

What One High School Senior Wants You to Know About Phone Bans — CNN Class reading — see Blackboard for the link.
High School Teachers Say Phone Distraction Is a Big Problem — Pew Research Class reading — see Blackboard for the link.
The Pew Research Center Website Search here for additional data on technology and young people.
How the US Is Destroying Young People's Future — Scott Galloway | TED Video 18 min. Social media, tech companies, and young people's opportunities. Also relevant to Social Media & Identity.
AI and the Demise of College Writing — Adam Walker Video 12 min. AI, academic integrity, and what's happening to student writing.

📣 Advertising, Marketing & Persuasion

How Dove, Chocolate, Applebee's & IKEA Are Tingling Your Senses — CBC Under the Influence Podcast Sensory marketing — how brands deliberately use smell, sound, and touch to shape behavior and purchases.
Social Media and Advertising — Project MUSE / Johns Hopkins Reading
Measuring Neural Arousal for Advertisements and Its Relationship With Advertising Success — Frontiers in Neuroscience Reading
AdText Website Multiple articles on advertising focused on different groups and approaches. Browse for what's relevant to your topic.
Captive: How the Ad Industry Pins Us Down Reading EPCC SharePoint — log in with your EPCC credentials.
Types of Deceptive Design (Dark Patterns) — deceptive.design Website Catalogs 16 manipulative design techniques used in websites and apps — fake urgency, trick wording, hidden costs, and more. Strong source for topics on advertising, consumer behavior, or tech ethics.
Neuromarketing: How Brands Are Getting Your Brain to Buy More Stuff Video
Neuromarketing: How Brands Are Manipulating Your Brain — Java Discover Documentary 57 min. Full documentary.
How Apple and Nike Have Branded Your Brain — Big Think Video 5 min.
How Brands Use Design & Marketing to Control Your Mind — Design Theory Video 40 min.
How Consumer Propaganda Changed America — Epic Economics Video 24 min. Also relevant to Media Literacy and Bias.
Influence & Persuasion: Crash Course Media Literacy #6 — CrashCourse Video 10 min.
How Ads (and People) Persuade You — SciShow Psych Video 5 min.
Targeted Ads: The Dark Side of Divulging Your Data — iluli by Mike Lamb Video 5 min. Also cross-listed under Privacy & Data.
Retail Tricks: How Stores Make You Spend More — CBC Marketplace Video 22 min. Sensory marketing, store design, and consumer manipulation.
What Is Sensory Marketing? — The Packaging School Video 3 min. Quick overview of how brands use the five senses.
IKEA Isn't Designed for Convenience, It's Designed to Make You Buy More! — Brendan Kane Video 30 sec. Short but punchy illustration of deliberate store design.
Rebranding Snickers for Gym Bros, Moms, and More — Matt Rosenman Video 2 min. Target marketing and brand identity in action.
Jon Stewart Smashes the Myth of Corporate Morality in Pride, BLM, and Beyond — The Daily Show Video 14 min. How corporations use social causes as marketing.
McMindfulness: When Capitalism Goes Buddhist — Elliot Sang Video 35 min. How corporations co-opt wellness and mindfulness culture for profit.

🔐 Privacy, Data & Surveillance

Data Brokers — EPIC (Electronic Privacy Information Center) Reading
Online Advertising & Tracking — EPIC Reading
What Is Data Ethics & Why Do We Need It? — Wall Street Technology Association Video 27 min.
Targeted Ads: The Dark Side of Divulging Your Data — iluli by Mike Lamb Video 5 min. Also cross-listed under Advertising.
Why Privacy Matters — Glenn Greenwald | TED Video 20 min.
Why Automakers Are Invading Your Privacy — CNBC Video 14 min. How cars have become surveillance devices.
Google, Facebook, Amazon: The Rise of the Mega-Corporations — DW Documentary Documentary 42 min. Also cross-listed under Technology & Society.
VFX Artists DEBUNK AI Influencers & Scams — Corridor Crew Video 20 min. Also relevant to AI & Misinformation.
Meta's $14.3B Investment in Scale AI — What It Means — Harper Carroll AI Video 3 min. The intersection of big tech, data, and AI development.
Ebooks, Kindle and the Erosion of Ownership — Plant Based Bride Video 14 min. Who really owns what you buy digitally — and what companies can take back.

🤖 AI, Misinformation & the Information Landscape

The Illusion of Truth — Veritasium Video How repetition creates the feeling of truth — the illusory truth effect. Also cross-listed under Technology & Society.
Why People Are So Confident When They're Wrong Video Also cross-listed under Technology & Society.
How to Safeguard Your Mind in the Age of Junk Information — Yuval Noah Harari | Big Think Video 13 min.
AI Slop: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver — HBO Video 29 min.
Can We Teach Our Moms to Spot Fake AI Videos? — Corridor Crew Video 16 min.
How to Spot Fake AI Photos — Hany Farid | TED Video 12 min.
VFX Artists DEBUNK AI Influencers & Scams — Corridor Crew Video 20 min. Also cross-listed under Privacy & Data.
STOP USING GENERATIVE A.I. — Thomas Benjamin Wild Esq (original song) Video 2 min. A creative take — could be an interesting way to introduce a section.

📰 Bias, Truth & Media Literacy

How to Detect Bias in News Media — FAIR Reading Also useful as a how-to for evaluating your own sources.
The Five Key Questions and Core Concepts of Media Literacy — Center for Media Literacy Reading
Evaluating Sources & Fact Checking: Crash Course Scientific Thinking #6 — CrashCourse Video 10 min. Very recent (2025).
How Consumer Propaganda Changed America — Epic Economics Video 24 min. Also cross-listed under Advertising.
Americans Exaggerate How Often They Go to Church — ReligionForBreakfast Video 13 min. Note from Kelli: This is especially interesting in terms of how data was gathered — location sharing revealed when people were actually attending church versus just saying they did. Think about what that tells us about how data collection works.
How Much Water Do You Actually Need a Day? — Gastropod Podcast Note from Kelli: This episode discusses various studies on water needs, including biased studies and the illusory truth effect — which connects to many topics in this essay.

💼 Work, Identity & Social Connection

I Study the Future. We Should Pay Attention to Avatars — Sinead Bovell | TEDxRutgersCamden Video 13 min. Also cross-listed under Social Media & Identity.
Can I Be Myself at Work? — Linden Vazey | TEDxUOA Video 12 min. Authenticity, identity, and workplace culture.
The Death of 24-Hour America — Why Nothing Stays Open Late — Cities By Diana Video 13 min. Technology, work schedules, and how social spaces are disappearing.
Google, Facebook, Amazon: The Rise of the Mega-Corporations — DW Documentary Documentary 42 min. Also cross-listed under Technology & Society and Privacy & Data.
RACE – THE POWER OF AN ILLUSION: How the Racial Wealth Gap Was Created — California Newsreel Video 29 min. Systemic inequality and data — how historical policies created lasting economic divides.
Jon Stewart Smashes the Myth of Corporate Morality — The Daily Show Video 14 min. Also cross-listed under Advertising.

🎬 Video Streaming — Kanopy (EPCC Login Required)

These films are free with your EPCC login. Go to kanopy.com/en/epcc and sign in with your EPCC credentials.

Sexy Baby — Social media, gender, and growing up online
Frontline: The Facebook Dilemma — Data privacy, fake news, and the social media ecosystem
Vulnerable Innocence: The Internet — Are Children in Charge? — Children, online safety, and parental oversight
What Is the Metaverse? — Virtual worlds and the next evolution of the internet
I Am Human — Brain implants, ethics, and what technology means for human identity
Generation Zapped — Wireless technology, cell phones, and health consequences
Computers v. Crime (2022) — How algorithms are used in bail decisions, sentencing, and policing
Augmented & Predicting My MS (2022) — Technology and disability
Why It Matters: Future Tech (2021) — 5 episodes; any of them work
Black Code: Where Big Data Meets Big Brother (2016) — Governments, internet control, and democracy
A Good American: Behind a Government Surveillance Program (2015) — NSA mass surveillance
Pre-Crime: Investigating Predictive Crime Algorithms (2017) — Predictive policing and algorithmic justice
Origin of the Species (2012) — Android development, human/machine relations, and gender