A path forward for social media and democracy
Democracy Works15 Feb 2021

A path forward for social media and democracy

Sinan Aral has spent two decades studying how social media impacts our lives, from how we think about politics to how we find a romantic partner. He argues that we're now at the crossroads of a decade of techno-utopianism followed by a decade of techno-dystopianism. How to reconcile the promise and peril of social media is one of the biggest questions facing democracy today.

Aral is the David Austin Professor of Management, Marketing, IT, and Data Science at MIT; director of the MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy; and head of MIT’s Social Analytics Lab. He is the author of The Hype Machine: How Social Media Disrupts Our Elections, Our Economy, and Our Health — And How We Must Adapt .

In his book and in this conversation, Aral goes under the hood of the biggest, most powerful social networks to tackle the critical question of just how much social media actually shapes our choices, for better or worse.

Additional Information

The Hype Machine

Sinan Aral on Twitter

Related Episodes

Facebook is not a democracy

Free speech from the Founding Fathers to Twitter


Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(331)

How to create social change that sticks

How to create social change that sticks

Changing the world is difficult. One reason is that the most important problems, like climate change and democracy reform are structural. They are larger than any one person can solve on their own, ye...

18 Mai 38min

Talk Nerdy: Black Evidence with Candis Watts Smith

Talk Nerdy: Black Evidence with Candis Watts Smith

Democracy Works host Candis Watts Smith joins Cara Santa Maria on the Talk Nerdy podcast to discuss her new book, Black Evidence: A History and a Warning. From Reconstruction to Redemption, from the e...

4 Mai 1h 4min

When politics enters the doctor's office

When politics enters the doctor's office

From the COVID-19 pandemic to debates over vaccines and the Make America Healthy Again movement, politics and medicine are intertwined in ways not seen in previous generations. When politics enters th...

20 Apr 31min

The Declaration of Independence and democracy renovation

The Declaration of Independence and democracy renovation

Danielle Allen's work straddles the line between past and present. On one hand, she's on the road this year talking about America's 250th anniversary in the context of her book on the Declaration of I...

6 Apr 46min

Janet Napolitano on higher education and democracy

Janet Napolitano on higher education and democracy

What is the role of higher education in a democracy? To what extent should American universities respond to the demands of those in power? Are we meeting this moment? As a former governor, cabinet sec...

16 Mar 34min

Is public media still public?

Is public media still public?

Ayesha Rascoe, host of NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday and Weekend Up First, joins us to discuss what it's like being a political reporter in a polarized country and what the "public" in public media loo...

2 Mar 20min

Embracing mindful democracy

Embracing mindful democracy

Democracy is often framed as a battle between political candidates or parties that have opposing viewpoints and are trying to win over voters to join their side. However, there’s another way to think ...

16 Feb 38min

How AI is changing democracy

How AI is changing democracy

AI is changing many aspects of our lives, so it's reasonable to expect that it will impact democracy, too. The question is how? Two experts in technology and politics join us to discuss how we can har...

2 Feb 46min

Populært innen Fakta

fastlegen
dine-penger-pengeradet
relasjonspodden-med-dora-thorhallsdottir-kjersti-idem
foreldreradet
treningspodden
jakt-og-fiskepodden
rss-strid-de-norske-borgerkrigene
mikkels-paskenotter
rss-bisarr-historie
sinnsyn
rss-kunsten-a-leve
hagespiren-podcast
dopet
hverdagspsyken
gravid-uke-for-uke
rss-sunn-okonomi
level-up-med-anniken-binz
rss-impressions-2
rss-kull
rss-bak-luftfarten