How Social Media And AI Impacts Our Mental Health: Reclaiming Our Minds And Hearts And Healing A Divided World with Tobias Rose-Stockwell

Nov 1, 2023

Tobias Rose-Stockwell, a writer and media researcher, examines how social media and AI affect our mental health. He explores the addictive nature of social media, emphasizing its potential for both harm and positive impact. Discussions include the dangers of misinformation and the need for critical engagement with digital content. Tobias shares insights from his humanitarian work, advocating for systemic changes and mindful tech use. He highlights the importance of community and compassion in navigating our increasingly fragmented digital world.

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INSIGHT

Social Media's Superpower

Social media's superpower of hyper-virality lets us instantly share anything with everyone.
This creates unintended consequences, similar to Spiderman's great power and great responsibility.

ANECDOTE

Conspiracy Theories in Hawaii

Dr. Hyman encountered people in Hawaii with numerous conspiracy theories, from germ denial to flat earth beliefs.
This highlights how social media can spread and reinforce misinformation.

INSIGHT

The Role of Traditional Media

Traditional media, despite its flaws, plays a crucial role in verifying information and establishing truth.
Social media disrupts this system, making it harder to discern reality from misinformation.

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This episode is brought to you by Rupa Health, BiOptimizers, Zero Acre, and Pendulum.

The rise of social media has revolutionized the way we connect, share information, and interact with one another. While it has undoubtedly brought numerous benefits, there is growing concern about its impact on our mental health.

Today on The Doctor’s Farmacy, I’m excited to talk to Tobias Rose-Stockwell about how the internet has broken our brains, what we can do to fix it, and how to navigate this complex digital landscape.

Tobias Rose-Stockwell is a writer, designer, and media researcher whose work has been featured in major outlets such as The Atlantic, WIRED, NPR, the BBC, CNN, and many others. His research has been cited in the adoption of key interventions to reduce toxicity and polarization within leading tech platforms. He previously led humanitarian projects in Southeast Asia focused on civil war reconstruction efforts, work for which he was honored with an award from the 14th Dalai Lama. He lives in New York with his cat Waffles.

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Here are more details from our interview (audio version / Apple Subscriber version):

The superpower that social media has provided to us (5:55 / 4:21)
How our traditional knowledge systems have been deconstructed (7:39 / 5:15)
The challenges of uncovering what is true (12:43 / 10:18)
How Tobais’s time in Cambodia led him to this work (15:05 / 12:42)
The harms of social media (26:57 / 22:36)
Historical media disruptions (32:57 / 28:37)
The dangers of misinformation (35:27 / 31:06)
Challenges and opportunities around AI (42:09 / 37:58)
How governments and platforms can reduce the harms of social media (55:10 / 50:59)
Individual actions to improve the impact of social media (1:02:30 / 58:09)

Get a copy of Outrage Machine: How Tech Amplifies Discontent, Disrupts Democracy―And What We Can Do About It.