33 min listen
A path forward for social media and democracy
FromDemocracy Works
ratings:
Length:
39 minutes
Released:
Feb 15, 2021
Format:
Podcast episode
Description
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 InformationThe Hype MachineSinan Aral on TwitterRelated EpisodesFacebook is not a democracyFree speech from the Founding Fathers to Twitter
Released:
Feb 15, 2021
Format:
Podcast episode
Titles in the series (100)
Checking the President’s power: From Watergate to Benghazi to Robert Mueller, U.S. history is full of congressional hearings. You’ve no doubt heard about them in the news, but do you know what those House and Senate committees actually do and what their role is in a democracy? We address those questions and more with Doug Kriner, professor of Government … Continue reading Checking the President’s power → by Democracy Works