Nine To Noon Critical thinking for teens to manage online world
Apr 8, 2026
Dr Marie Davies, an academic and author who teaches critical thinking to teens. She covers mental habits and cognitive skills needed to assess credibility. She explains her Street Smarts model, using emotion, bias awareness and practical questioning. Topics include visualising scams, teaching argument skills, spotting fallacies and how algorithms shape teen feeds.
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What Critical Thinking Really Means
- Critical thinking means assessing credibility by checking evidence, sources and considering multiple perspectives.
- Marie Davies distinguishes misinformation (false) from disinformation (deliberately false) and stresses teens face heavy information overload online.
Start With Emotions To Reveal Bias
- Learning is emotional, so starting by asking teens how they feel about an issue reveals biases before pushing evidence checks.
- Davies argues emotion-first reflection makes them more aware of cognitive bias.
Practice Evidence Questions Regularly
- Practice critical habits like asking who wrote it, their intentions, and checking other credible sources.
- Marie Davies recommends group practice so teens debate with peers and parents, not only individual effort.
