I run field experiments on social media platforms to study how toxic content, advertising, and ranking shape engagement, political behavior, welfare, and mental health.
Applied microeconomics · Political economics · Behavioral economics
What happens to mental health when toxic content is removed from social media?
We randomize a cross-platform browser extension that hides toxic posts and comments for six weeks (N = 664). Contrary to intuition, filtering toxicity worsens mental health: a 0.15σ rise in a GAD-7/PHQ-8 symptom index, with loneliness and a diminished relative moral self-view as candidate channels.