How to stop doom scrolling – and have a better experience online with Jay Van Bavel (from ReThinking)
Nov 26, 2024
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Jay Van Bavel, a renowned psychology and neuroscience professor at NYU, sheds light on the reasons behind our doom scrolling habits. He discusses the psychological effects of negative news and the importance of uplifting narratives to combat negativity bias. Van Bavel also explores strategies to enhance social media experiences, emphasizing the need for ethical content sharing. Additionally, he highlights the significance of collective identity and the balance between authentic content creation and audience engagement, urging a shift towards positivity in our online interactions.
Human psychology drives engagement towards negative news, perpetuating a toxic online environment that favors sensationalism over positivity.
Curating one's social media feed by following uplifting accounts can enhance emotional well-being and foster a more inclusive online experience.
Deep dives
The Impact of Negative News on Engagement
Negative news tends to attract more engagement because human psychology drives a natural focus on threats and dangers. The podcast discusses how emotional responses such as fear, anger, and disgust encourage clicks and shares, which ultimately increases a platform's ad revenue. This cycle perpetuates a negative news environment as content creators cater to the audience's inclination to engage with disturbing stories. The discussion highlights a troubling trend where emotional neutrality has declined, leading to burnout and disengagement from news consumption.
Evolving Dynamics of Online Content and Algorithms
The conversation examines how algorithms on social media platforms favor emotionally charged content, particularly negative stories, while often neglecting positive narratives. An analysis revealed that even when using optimized headlines, negative news significantly outperformed positive ones in terms of engagement. This reflects the unfortunate reality that societal attention gravitates toward sensationalism, fostering a toxic environment where misinformation flourishes. The implication is that changing algorithms alone may not suffice; a cultural shift in audience preferences is also necessary.
The Role of Personal Accounts in Influencing Emotion
The podcast emphasizes the influence of a small number of accounts on social media that perpetuate negativity, with only a fraction of users driving a majority of harmful content. An experimental intervention showed that encouraging people to unfollow these negative accounts and to follow more positive ones led to increased well-being and less partisan animosity. This outcome suggests that individual choices in content consumption can significantly impact one's emotional experience and perception of social media. The discussion reinforces the idea that curating one's feed can lead to more positive online interactions.
Finding Common Ground Through Empathy
The dialogue concludes with a powerful exploration of how identities can foster inclusivity rather than conflict. The athletes' interactions at the Olympics illustrate that shared experiences can promote solidarity across national boundaries, emphasizing the importance of cooperation over hostility. Additionally, there is a critical reflection on how media should strive to highlight uplifting stories that reflect the positive aspects of human nature. Ultimately, the discussion advocates for creating norms that encourage healthy forms of identity that unite rather than divide.
It’s impossible to separate the way people engage with AI with the way they engage with the internet as a whole. This is an episode of ReThinking, another podcast from the TED Audio Collective, featuring a compelling discussion of why the internet can feel so unfriendly–and where we can go from there. You’ll hear from Jay Van Bavel, an award-winning professor of psychology and neural science at NYU, on the science of virality, why bad news commands our attention, and how we can find common ground around more uplifting content.
If you liked this episode, you can find more ReThinking wherever you get your podcasts.