#291 – Jonathan Haidt: The Case Against Social Media

Lex Fridman Podcast

Jonathan Haidt is a social psychologist at NYU and author of The Coddling of the American Mind, The Righteous Mind, and The Happiness Hypothesis. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors:
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EPISODE LINKS:
Jonathan’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/JonHaidt
Jonathan’s Website: https://jonathanhaidt.com
Documents & Articles:
1. Social Media and Political Dysfunction: A Collaborative Review: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vVAtMCQnz8WVxtSNQev_e1cGmY9rnY96ecYuAj6C548/edit
2. Teen Mental Health Testimony: https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Haidt%20Testimony.pdf
3. The Atlantic article: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2022/05/social-media-democracy-trust-babel/629369/
Books:
1. The Coddling of the American Mind (book): https://amzn.to/3MW4HqL
2. The Righteous Mind (book): https://amzn.to/3to0tkj
3. The Happiness Hypothesis (book): https://amzn.to/3Mb1xP2

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OUTLINE:
Here’s the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time.
(00:00) – Introduction
(07:57) – Social media and mental health
(21:45) – Mark Zuckerberg
(31:23) – Children’s use of social media
(42:08) – Social media and democracy
(58:14) – Elon Musk and Twitter
(1:14:45) – Anonymity on social media
(1:20:44) – Misinformation
(1:27:38) – Social media benefits
(1:30:22) – Political division on social media
(1:36:54) – Future of social media
(1:42:46) – Advice for young people