Overview
What if your TV isn’t just showing you programs but is watching you back? This video exposes how smart TVs record what’s on the screen, capture sound as well, and share that data with companies that use it to target, influence, manipulate, and profit from viewers. It challenges students to think critically about privacy, consent, and the real cost of “smart” technology.

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Lesson Insights

Grade level and subjects
• Recommended for grades 6-12
• Subjects: Science / Technology and Other
• Works in Classroom, Hybrid, and Homeschool settings

What students will learn
By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
• describe the ways smart TVs gather information from viewers and their environments;
• illustrate how collected data can be combined to build personal or behavioral profiles;
• investigate the ethical and social implications of hidden surveillance in household technology; and
• propose realistic actions people can take to limit or prevent invasive data collection.

Key concepts and terms covered
ACR (Automatic Content Recognition), Algorithm, Consent, Data Broker, Data Mining, Privacy Policy, Shares user data, Surveillance, and Targeted Advertising.

Sample discussion questions
• What is a smart TV?
• How does this kind of surveillance affect your sense of freedom or security?
• If a company uses your personal data to change your behavior, is that manipulation or marketing?
• Do you think people still have free will if technology constantly adjusts what they see to influence their choices? Explain.
• How might the constant flow of targeted media affect trust—in government, in media, and even in each other?

What’s in the free teacher’s guide
This printable 24-page Teacher's Guide includes a lesson description, learning objectives, key vocabulary, a fill-in viewing guide with answer key, discussion and analysis questions, classroom activities, and the full video transcript.

Standards alignment
Aligned to state standards — use the SITC Standards Tool to match this video to the standards in your state.