Is Social Media a Trap?

Are we trapped by the social media we love? In this episode of the “Justified Posteriors” podcast, hosts Seth Benzell and Andrey Fradkin discuss a research paper examining the social and economic impacts of TikTok and Instagram usage among college students. The paper, authored by Leonardo Bursztyn, Benjamin Handel, Rafael Jimenez, and Christopher Roth, suggests that these platforms may create a “collective trap” where users prefer a world where no one used social media, despite the platforms' popularity. Through surveys, the researchers found that students place significant value on these platforms but also experience negative social externalities. The discussion explores the implications of this study, including the difference in network effects between TikTok and Instagram, potential policy responses, and the broader cultural context of social media use.Sponsored by the Digital Business Institute at Boston University’s Questrom School of Business. Big thanks to Ching-Ting “Karina” Yang for her help editing the episode.🔗Links to the paper for this episode’s discussion:Summary of the Paper(Full Paper) When Product Markets Become Collective Traps: The Case of Social Media-🗞️Subscribe for upcoming episodes, post-podcast notes, and Andrey’s posts:💻 Follow us on Twitter:@AndreyFradkin https://x.com/andreyfradkin?lang=en@SBenzell https://x.com/sbenzell?lang=en Get full access to Justified Posteriors at empiricrafting.substack.com/subscribe