TED Tech How to stop doom scrolling – and have a better experience online with Jay Van Bavel (from ReThinking)
13 snips
Nov 26, 2024 Jay Van Bavel, a psychology and neural science professor at NYU, delves into the darker side of the internet and offers insights on uplifting online experiences. He explains how sensationalist news captivates our attention and discusses the psychology of virality. The conversation ventures into the importance of sharing positive narratives, especially among youth facing mental health struggles. Van Bavel also highlights the need for clearer communication in addressing global challenges and examines the balance between national pride and camaraderie in sports.
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Negativity Bias in News
- News interwoven with social media creates an attention economy.
- Negativity bias in news is driven by our brain's survival instincts and algorithms.
Evolutionary Roots of Negativity Bias
- Negativity bias is a fundamental aspect of human psychology.
- This is supported by research in psychology and has evolutionary roots.
Headline Testing
- Upworthy A/B tested headlines and found negative ones get more clicks.
- This suggests our brains prioritize negative information over positive.
