Andrew Yang Podcast The Science Behind Why Social Media Makes Us Miserable
Oct 20, 2025
Join Jay Van Bavel, a psychology and neuroscience professor at NYU, and Steven Rathje, a political psychology researcher and TikTok communicator, as they explore the dark side of social media. They discuss how social media fuels tribalism, amplifies polarization, and harms mental health—especially for young users. Discover the surprising impacts of algorithms on virality and the benefits of reducing social media usage. Their insights offer practical strategies to reclaim your mental well-being and improve real-world connections.
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Public Outreach Can Hurt Academic Careers
- Jay and Steve hid public-facing engagement (tweets, media) from tenure review and hiring committees to avoid penalties.
- Academics still face stigma for public science communication despite its outreach value.
Moral Emotion Drives Virality
- Moral-emotional language greatly increases shareability: each moral-emotional word raises share likelihood by ~15–20%.
- That language creates echo chambers by signaling closed-mindedness and driving partisan-only engagement.
Try A Short Daily Limit
- Limit social media to minimal daily use; a two-week trial of ≤5 minutes/day improved well-being.
- Reduced usage notably improved sleep and reduced exposure to hostile content in their pilot studies.
