Jun 4, 2026 · 41 min · 12 segments
Social media has a content problem. Some posts incite violence or hatred; others spread misinformation or promote self-harm. The instinctive response is removal — but is that always the right tool? A…
Jeff HowardGuest
Emily McTernanHost
Is it fair to describe you as someone who's positive about the value of social media, even in the face of growing doubts in society about social media, what it's done to our politics, culture, and even our brains?
I think about social media in much the same way I think about automotive transit.
It allows them to travel and experience new scenery and places, visit new cities, try new foods and cultures.
But obviously, there can be huge harms that arise when it isn't regulated properly, when people don't wear seatbelts, when there aren't guardrails on the side of the roads, when there aren't speed limits.
But provided all the relevant regulations, both in terms of safety and environment, are in place, then I tend to think that automotive transit is a net good.
And I can imagine a version of social media that works like that, where it's appropriately regulated, it's used in a reasonably moderate way, it has certain safety guardrails in place, that it does constitute a positive good for society.
It is the place where people go to express themselves, to ask questions to one another, to reconnect with old friends, to receive information.
Increasingly, social media platforms like TikTok are really a new form of entertainment that's replacing television where people go to be amused.
And I think all of the standard reasons why we value these multifarious forms of communication help explain what's valuable about social media when it is valuable.
Is it fair to describe you as someone who's positive about the value of social media, even in the face of growing doubts in society about social media, what it's done to our politics, culture, and even our brains?
I think about social media in much the same way I think about automotive transit.
It allows them to travel and experience new scenery and places, visit new cities, try new foods and cultures.
But obviously, there can be huge harms that arise when it isn't regulated properly, when people don't wear seatbelts, when there aren't guardrails on the side of the roads, when there aren't speed limits.
But provided all the relevant regulations, both in terms of safety and environment, are in place, then I tend to think that automotive transit is a net good.
And I can imagine a version of social media that works like that, where it's appropriately regulated, it's used in a reasonably moderate way, it has certain safety guardrails in place, that it does constitute a positive good for society.
It is the place where people go to express themselves, to ask questions to one another, to reconnect with old friends, to receive information.
Increasingly, social media platforms like TikTok are really a new form of entertainment that's replacing television where people go to be amused.
And I think all of the standard reasons why we value these multifarious forms of communication help explain what's valuable about social media when it is valuable.
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