Ep. 393: Social Media: Good or Bad?
Guest: Dr. Cody Buntain, University of Maryland
Don’t you wish there was an app that lets you know which one of the people you know is an opinionated, bigoted, racist, mysoginistic, conspiracy theory idiot?
Oh wait, there is! In fact, there are many and collectively, they are known as social media. “That is a big problem,” says Dr. Cody Buntain, an assistant professor at the University of Maryland’s College of Information.
Dr. Buntain points out that “TikTok is trying to address this issue by launching its ‘Ineligible For Your Feed,’ whereby the app will automatically control your feed.” The feature is part of TikTok’s policy change aimed at promoting safety, security, and well-being for users.
“All of those issues are part of the dark side of social media,” says Buntain. He also points to the American Economic Review study “The Welfare Effects of Social Media,” which states that “the rise of social media has provoked both optimism about societal benefits and concerns about harms such as addiction, depression and political polarization.” Or as John Vervaike, the author of, “Zombies in Western Culture,” posits: “Are we losing touch with reality?”
Stuart McNish invited Dr. Cody Buntain to join him for a Conversation that Matters about the good, the bad, and the ugly of social media and what you can do to protect yourself.
