Is the smartphone panic dumb?

More than six centuries ago, the Black Death wiped out nearly half of England’s population. Suddenly, workers had more power, wealthy landowners had less, and the old social order began to crack. When the ruling class tried to force that order back into place, anger erupted into ...  Show more

It doesn’t take much to ignite a new wave of alien conspiracy theories on social media. But beyond the internet speculation lies a serious scientific question: If billions of planets could support life, why haven’t we found any?Host Megan McArdle revisits her conversation with as ...  Show more

Warning: This episode contains mentions of bullying and suicide.

A rising tide of mental health problems among teenagers has sent parents, teachers and doctors searching for answers. This week, the U.S. surgeon general, Dr. Vivek H. Murthy, offered one: social med ...

There is a movement afoot to restrict young people's access to social media and pornography.

Critics of social media and online porn argue that they can be harmful to minors, and states across the country are taking up the cause, considering laws tha ...

On this episode of We’re Not Wrong, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy's recent advisory underscores the deep-rooted concern over the mental health effects of excessive social media use among American youth. The advisory revealed a correlation between intensive usage and heighte ...

Ever since there have been smartphones and social media, there have been concerns about how they might be affecting children. Over the past decade, doctors have seen a decline in mental health in the young in much of the rich world. But whether that rise can be attributed to t ...