As of 2024, 72.5% of the U.S. population—approximately 246 million people—used social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, X, Snapchat, TikTok, and Mastodon. Even though many people have shuttered their accounts in the wake of an increasingly polarized political climate, social media is still one of the primary ways we connect with one another.

Research on the toxic impacts of social media are abundant, but these online platforms can also help us build community and support each other.

Dr. David Jurgens works at the intersection of computational space and social sciences. His research in artificial intelligence (AI) aims to understand how social media influences our well-being. Unlike the vast majority of social media research, which focuses on how social media can cause harm, Jurgens’ experimental work develops new AI-based tools with the hope of helping people online better engage with each other.

Dr. Yanna Krupnikov, Professor of Communication and Media, studies political expression and polarization on social media. Krupnikov has co-authored a number of books on the topic, including the recently published Partisan Hostility and American Democracy: Explaining Political Divisions and When They Matter (2024, University of Chicago Press).

Hors d’oeuvres will be served at 5:30 p.m., and the program begins at 6:00 p.m.
Seating is limited—come early.
Free and open to the public.
UMMNH would like to thank Conor O’Neill’s for 15+ years of support for our Science Cafés.