Craig Sewall

lol

What’s burrito taxi?

Works the other way around too.

“If I was Jonathan Haidt, how would I destroy the next generation?”

Haidt's Google Scholar profile reveals one (1) peer-reviewed paper on social media use and mental health and one (1) paper on technology use and loneliness since 2015. He is not the lead author on a single paper in the area for which he claims expertise. The word for that is: charlatan.

See what you’ve wrought, @aidangcw.bsky.social?

I don’t care about facts I care about ew

Ew don’t call them “wet-brains”

Is social media dying? How much has Twitter changed as it became X? Which party now dominates the conversation?

Using nationally representative ANES data from 2020 & 2024, I map how the U.S. social media landscape has transformed.

Here are the key take-aways 🧵

arxiv.org/abs/2510.25417

bsky.app/profile/cjse...

From Jeffrey Wooldridge over on Twitter, for those following along. Here’s the link he’s talking about: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Thanks Stephen. I’ll check this out. In the bit of searching I’ve done thus far, I’ve noticed there is a decent amount of content on testing for pre-trends. But I haven’t been able to find much on power for detecting treatment effects. Maybe I’m going at it wrong, though

Anyone aware of resources (blogs, articles, etc) that estimate/simulate power for DiD with staggered adoption estimators (e.g., Callaway and Sant'Anna)?

Bat signal @stephenjwild.bsky.social

Episode 7: Screen time myths and misconceptions Mythconceptions?

When it comes to screens, everyone seems to have an opinion - but how much of what we hear is actually true? Episode 7 of Screen Sense is out now, and we take on some of the most common myths and misconceptions around screen time:

screensensepodcast.substack.com/p/episode-7-...

Is it a hot take to say: If you have control variables in your analysis, you are doing causal inference, whether you realize it or not

Happy to share my new study, publ. in Social Science Research 🎉 Bottom line: Yes, adolescents use their phones a lot 🤳 But I find no support for the notion that this use displaces reading, homework, hobbies, physical act., sleep... Instead: Changing media preferences 📺 ->📱. doi.org/10.1016/j.ss...

Episode 4: Why do we find it so difficult to talk about tech effects? We often have a very real sense that digital technology can do damage to our wellbeing, and sometimes in ways that feel seriously worrying.

Episode 4 of Screen Sense is out now! This week, we explore why our public conversations about tech often get stuck in fear, and how we might move toward more helpful ways of thinking and talking about screens, wellbeing and family life:

screensensepodcast.substack.com/p/episode-4-...

Abstract: Building on the idea that subjective evaluations of social media use (SMU) may shape well-being effects, this study investigated how two “social media mindsets”—agency (perceived control over SMU) and valence (perceived effects of SMU)—relate to self-reported and logged SMU, and four well-being indicators (depression, anxiety, stress, and life satisfaction) in a South African sample of young adults (N = 1,858; M age = 21.01). Agency mindsets were negatively correlated with SMU and positively with well-being, while valence mindsets were associated with higher SMU but not with well-being. Logged SMU showed weaker associations with mindsets and well-being than self-reported SMU, suggesting differences between perceived and actual behavior. The findings replicate, extend, and in some cases contradict prior research, emphasizing how users’ sense of control is more important for well-being than SMU duration or perceptions of its effects, and that more work is needed to understand whether the “mindsets” concept is fruitful. Lay summary: This study investigated how young adults’ feelings about social media—whether they feel in control of their use (agency) or view it positively (valence)—relate to their actual use and mental well-being. The study involved 1,858 participants from South Africa using both self-reported and actual logged social media usage data. The results show that people who feel more in control of their social media use tend to use it less and report better mental well-being. In contrast, those who see social media as more positive spend more time on it, but this mindset did not directly relate to well-being. The data collected from logs of actual usage show weaker relations with well-being compared to people’s estimates and to their mindsets. These findings suggest that a person’s sense of control over social media plays a more important role in their mental health than how much time they spend on it.

New in JCMC with @bronwynec.bsky.social: People who feel more in control of their social media use tend to use it less and report better well-being. Seeing social media as positive was associated with more use, but not well-being. 👉 doi.org/10.1093/jcmc...

Here’s a screenshot of the “addictive use” trajectories from the JAMA paper cited below. My educated guess from the details of the measure is that none of these lines comes close to bona fide “addictive” use

🧵

Episode 1: Why does (digital) parenting feel so hard? Listen now | How should we think about parenting in a digital age?

Screen Sense: Parenting in a Digital World, the new podcast from @shuhbillskee.bsky.social and I - first episode is now live. We hope you enjoy it. open.substack.com/pub/screense...

lol an app for a dishwasher. What’s the world coming to?

I’m sick and tired of the tyranny of Big Ceramic

Microplastics!

I am convinced that we’d experience the heat death of the universe before my plastic plates and cups dry out in the dishwasher

Not sure if science has advanced this far yet to answer this question, but here goes: Why the hell do my plastic plates/cups NEVER dry out in the dishwasher?

🎙️Screen Sense - new podcast with me and @shuhbillskee.bsky.social, is launching next week! Two psychologists (and dads) talking honestly about what it means to raise a family in a screen-filled world - with science, real stories and zero guilt. Launching 13th June. screensensepodcast.substack.com

Ditto

Hamaker is my hero