The Global Social Media Study
Last call for potential collaborators for our global social media study!
Almost 5 billion people use social media worldwide. While much of research on social media has been conducted in the US and UK, emerging evidence suggests that social media might have very different effects on countries outside the US (Asimovic et. al, 2021; Ghai et. al, 2023; Lorenz-Spreen et. al, 2022). With social media’s massive global usage, it is crucial to examine the causal effects of social media on important psychological outcomes, such as polarization and well-being.
We plan to conduct a global field experiment across multiple countries to test the causal effect of social media on polarization, intergroup attitudes and well-being around the world. Similar to prior “global studies” conducted with the Social Identity and Morality Lab, such as the International Collaboration on Social and Moral Psychology: Covid-19 and the International Collaboration to Understand Climate Action, we aim to collaborate with a large team of researchers from countries around the globe to conduct a cross-cultural field experiment.
In this global field experiment, participants will be incentivized to temporarily reduce their social media screen-time for ~2 weeks. We will then examine how reducing social media usage affects polarization, intergroup attitudes, well-being, and a number of related outcomes (e.g., trust, political participation, belief in misinformation, etc.). The methods of the study will be modeled after prior social media deactivation studies (e.g, Asimovic et. al, 2021; Alcott et. al, 2020). We will also examine whether the effects of social media cessation are moderated by a number of country-level variables (such as the strength of a country’s democracy, etc.) and individual difference variables. This global study will help inform a number of debates about the effect of social media in different cultural and political contexts.
On March 27, 2023, we sent out a call for collaborators on social media to help us conduct this global field experiment. Over 700 researchers residing in 76 countries have filled out this call for collaborators survey, and reported being able to collect data in 103 countries (shown in green in the below map). But there is still time to join this project if you can help us collect data from one of the counties below (in gray):
The above map shows the countries that collaborators have reported being able to collect data from. Over 700 researchers residing in 76 countries report being able to collect data from 103 total countries (shown in green).
Led by Steve Rathje, Nejla Asimovic, Claire Robertson, Tiago Ventura, Joshua Tucker, and Jay Van Bavel this project is funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation, a grant from the Templeton World Charity Foundation, and a “seed grant” from New York University. Additional funds will come from our collaborators.
Call for Collaborators
In early 2023, we sent out a call for collaborators form to invite people to join this project. More than 700 researchers from 76 countries filled out this form. We have now closed this call for collaborators form, but are still accepting collaborators as needed on a case by case basis. Please reach out to our project email (globalsocialmediastudy@gmail.com) if you want to join our mailing list and potentially collaborate on this project.
We ask all collaborators to sign a collaboration agreement that outlines their roles and expectations for being included on this project. You can read that collaboration agreement here to understand what is expected of collaborators on this project.
Are there any guidelines to becoming a collaborator?
Collaborators need to be PhD students, postdocs or PIs working at a university or individuals working at an equivalent research institution. You can read our collaboration agreement here to understand what is expected of collaborators on this project.
What if I am not able to fund data collection?
We encourage you to still fill out the form, since you may be able to participate by translating surveys and carrying out the experiment.
Can you tell me more about the experimental design?
The experimental design will closely follow prior social media deactivation experiments, such as Alcott et. al (2020), or Asimovic et. al (2022).
How many participants will be collected per country?
We are aiming to collect a minimum sample size of 200 people per country. Multiple participants labs can help collect data in each country. We will consider exceptions to this target sample size on a case-by-case basis for certain countries where data is especially hard to collect. All data will be collected via survey companies (such as Bilendi).
Since we are planning on submitting this project as a registered report (target journal: Nature), our specific methods, plans, and timeline may change pending reviewer comments.
What is the timeline of the experiment?
We plan to collect pilot data in 2024, submit the Registered Report in 2024, and collect data for the full experiment in 2025-2026. However, this plan is subject to change.
How will you check if people complied with the experiment?
We plan to measure compliance using screenshots of social media screen-time.
Do I need ethics approval before collecting data?
Ethics approval will either be received by NYU or another participating institution for each country.
What social media platforms are you focusing on?
We plan to have people reduce their smartphone social media screen-time on a few key social media platforms, such as Facebook, X/Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok. This may differ for countries that do not have these platforms.
What if I have more questions?
You can contact the research team at globalsocialmediastudy@gmail.com. Please note that we will not be able to answer all questions immediately. You can also post questions in the comments section and we will check back every so often and respond to them.