Nature & Nurture #136: Dr. Steve Rathje - The Global Social Media Experiment The Nature & Nurture Podcast

Steve Rathjay is a Psychologist and Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Social Identity and Morality Lab of New York University. He is an expert in the psychology of social media use and one of the leaders of the Global Social Media Experiment, an international collaboration examining the causal impact of social media usage in 76 countries around the world. Dr. Rathje received his PhD from the University of Cambridge as a Gates Cambridge Scholar, and completed his undergraduate education in Psychology and Symbolic Systems at Stanford University. He has received numerous grants and awards for his research, and runs the science communication channel @stevepsychology with more than 1 million followers on TikTok.

00:07 Exploring Social Media's Impact on Political Polarization

02:15 The Paradox of Virality: Why Negative Content Spreads

10:17 Evolutionary Perspectives on Social Media Behavior

14:50 The Creator's Dilemma: Navigating Virality and Authenticity on TikTok

36:07 The Science of Clickbait: Understanding What Captivates Us

40:41 The Power of Podcasts: Fostering Connection in the Digital Age

42:39 Exploring Parasocial Relationships and Social Media Dynamics

46:06 The Impact of Negativity Bias and Climate Doomerism

51:46 Social Media's Role in Global Connectivity and Cultural Evolution

01:14:11 The Power of Inoculation Theory Against Misinformation

01:22:13 Navigating the Complex Landscape of Social Media Regulation

01:28:50 Concluding Thoughts on Social Media's Societal Impact