Abstract As digital ecosystems grow increasingly complex, the ability to critically ignore distractions has emerged as a vital skill for navigating low-quality, false, or malicious information. Coined by Wineburg (2021), Critical Ignoring refers to cognitive/behavioral strategies that enable users to filter irrelevant content, focusing on reliable information. This study investigates how these strategies manifest within the Digital Curation of STEM topics on Wikimedia platforms, and how they are sustained and adapted over time. Through qualitative analysis, findings reaffirm relevance of the three original strategies, self-nudging, lateral reading, and “don’t feed the trolls”, while identifying two additional dimensions, motivational and contextual, shaping how the original strategies operate in collaborative contexts long-term. Motivational strategies (following passions, leveraging expertise, practicing patience) were found to reduce cognitive strain and support sustained engagement. The contextual community layer, reinforced individual efforts through collaboration, validation and shared accountability, amplifying the effectiveness of cognitive/behavioral practices. Findings culminate by introducing an enhanced framework for Critical Ignoring in Digital Curation that integrates cognitive/behavioral, motivational and contextual dimensions. This expanded perspective underscores the importance of incorporating these strategies into Digital Literacy education, equipping learners with tools to navigate algorithm-driven information environments. Furthermore, as Generative AI (GenAI) technologies reshape digital ecosystems, this framework offers a timely model for navigating a changing digital landscape. Addressing gaps in existing literature, this research extends the theoretical and practical understanding of Critical Ignoring, positioning it as a sustained practice, rather than a momentary evaluative skill, and offering actionable strategies for fostering informed, adaptable and resilient digital citizens.
Sigalov et al. (Fri,) studied this question.