Are you trapped in an echo chamber? Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock.com Alexander J. Stewart, University of Houston and Joshua B. Plotkin, University of Pennsylvania Social media has transformed how people talk to each other. But social media platforms are not shaping up to be the utopian spaces for human connection their founders hoped. […] Read more »
Joe Biden isn’t the only ‘electable’ candidate. Here’s what Democratic primary voters are thinking — and how to change it.
… When women and people of color run for office, they tend to win at the same rates as white men. Nevertheless, my research shows that Americans see white men as more electable than equally qualified women and people of color. … Most Americans are not sexist or racist — […] Read more »
Gender Differences in Emotional Reactions to the First 2016 Presidential Debate
The first presidential general election debate of 2016 was historic in many ways, featuring two unique candidates and the largest audience in history with just over 84 million viewers. We explore the emotional impact of this widely-viewed debate on viewers in our new article, entitled “Gender Differences in Emotional Reactions […] Read more »
‘Screen Time’ Is Over
… Consider what a person can do in just the time it takes to wait for a bus: text, watch a comedy skit, play a video game, buy concert tickets, take five selfies, each with a different set of cartoon ears. Learning how that behavior shapes an individual’s life experience […] Read more »
How fake news gets into our minds, and what you can do to resist it
Julian Matthews, Monash University Although the term itself is not new, fake news presents a growing threat for societies across the world. Only a small amount of fake news is needed to disrupt a conversation, and at extremes it can have an impact on democratic processes, including elections. Read more: […] Read more »
Real Solutions for Fake News? Reducing Belief in False Stories on Social Media
Social media has increasingly enabled “fake news” to circulate widely, most notably during the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign. Although it likely did not change the outcome of the election, false news threatens the democratic goal of a well-informed electorate. To combat the harmful effects of this misinformation, Facebook began adding […] Read more »