Tobias Dienlin Profile picture
Apr 20, 2022 12 tweets 5 min read Read on X
Jonathan Haidt wrote an important article on the effects of social media on democracy.

Although there are several things to like, I believe he got three major things wrong. 🧵

theatlantic.com/magazine/archi…
1⃣ Social media just aren't inherently bad.

Haidt labels social media as "terrible". However, as every Communication scholar knows, social media offer a plethora of uses and gratifications. There are plenty reason we spend so much time online.
In my reading of the literature, the four most important ones are:

1. Information Management
2. Relationship Management
3. Reputation Management
4. Mood Management
Yes, there's mis & disinformation. That's a problem. But social media are incredibly powerful in getting *relevant* info to their users.

Where did I hear about Haidt's article? Where do I get high quality summaries and comments about the article? Twitter.
2⃣ Research on the effects of social media use on democracies is not that clear.

Haidt: "Recent academic studies suggest that social media is indeed corrosive to trust in governments, news media, and people and institutions in general."
The @leopoldina, one of the world's oldest scientific associations, commissioned 19 professors to summarize the research on the effects of digitization on democracies (with a strong focus on platforms and social media).

leopoldina.org/en/policy-advi…
I was part of the group, and we had many fascinating discussions. Our conclusion?

To be honest, there really isn't any. Because the literature and effects are incredibly ambivalent, and it's almost impossible to answer the RQ objectively.
3⃣ Blaming today's problems primarily of social media is way too easy. Haidt overplays the role of social media.
▶️ What about the US lacking a proper public broadcasting infrastructure?
▶️ What about say Gingrich or Limbaugh changing tonality already in the 90ies without any social media?
▶️ What about decades long trends in individualization?
Don't get me wrong. I do agree with several of Haidt's thoughts. Let's indeed:

- Try to improve Social Media
- Amplify *moderate* content
- Fight disinformation
- Implement user verification
- Share data with researchers
- Address underlying social problems (#freeplay)
But we don't need to demonize social media to understand that it would make much sense to introduce changes and to improve our experience.
Summary: I think Haidt's article is important. I share many of the solutions he's presenting. Yes, we can and should make social media better.

But it's just not true that social media are "horrible".

Let's be less radical and more nuanced in our evaluations.

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More from @tdienlin

Jun 23, 2020
"The impact of digital technology use on adolescent well-being"

New lit. review together with @NiklasJohannes, just published in "Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience".

👇 Thread with main conclusions 👇(1/8)
1. The general effects of digital technology use on well-being are likely in the negative spectrum, but very small—potentially too small to matter. (2/8)
2. No screen time is created equal; different uses will lead to different effects. (3/8)
Read 8 tweets
May 24, 2020
Okay, #ica20, let's do this. Here are my thoughts on #openscience and #opencomm for the more qualitative approaches in our field!

(Beware, long thread.)
(Also, please be kind.)
>Background: I was VERY curious how our agenda for #opencomm would be received in our field (if you don't know what I'm talking about, here's the link: academic.oup.com/joc/advance-ar…).
>Basically, we're calling for making research more available, transparent, & traceable. We encourage the sharing of data (where ever possible) & analysis scripts, and the introduction of preregistration, registered reports, large scale collaborations, the TOP guidelines, etc.
Read 32 tweets
May 6, 2019
Does social media use affect the life satisfaction of young people?

In what follows, please find the results of the most recent and probably largest longitudinal study on the topic -- which has just appeared in the Journal PNAS. 1/11
Together with @OrbenAmy & @ShuhBillSkee we have analyzed data from Understanding Society, the largest panel study worldwide. 8 Waves of data were collected, each separated by 1 year. The results are based on the answers of altogether 5,491 British Youth. @usociety 2/11
The data were analyzed using Random Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Models – after RCTs arguably the best method to estimate causal effects. Using Specification Curve Analyses we ran overall 2,268 models – thereby increasing the results’ robustness. 3/11
Read 11 tweets
May 6, 2019
Beeinflusst Social Media-Nutzung die Lebenszufriedenheit? Stimmt die These, u.a. vertreten von Spitzer, dass Jugendliche durch Social Media unglücklicher werden?

Hier die Ergebnisse der umfangreichsten längsschnittlichen Studie zum Thema - soeben erschienen im Journal PNAS! 1/11
Zusammen mit @OrbenAmy & @ShuhBillSkee analysierten wir Daten von Understanding Society, der weltweit umfangreichsten Längsschnittstudie. 8 Wellen wurden bisher erhoben, mit jeweils 1 Jahr Abstand. Insgesamt gingen Antworten von 5.492 britischen Jugendlichen ein. @usociety 2/11
Ausgewertet wurden die Daten mittels Random Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Models – nach RCTs die wohl beste Methode zur Bestimmung kausaler Effekte. Anhand von Specification Curve Analyses wurden insgesamt 2.268 Modelle berechnet - was die Robustheit der Ergebnisse erhöht. 3/11
Read 11 tweets

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