Replication Archive for: The Welfare Effects of Social Media

Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s) Hunt Allcott, New York University; Luca Braghieri, Stanford University; Sarah Eichmeyer, Stanford University; Matthew Gentzkow, Stanford University

Version: View help for Version V1

Name	File Type	Size	Last Modified
analysis			11/05/2019 02:25:AM
confidential			11/05/2019 02:26:AM
data			11/05/2019 02:26:AM
docs			11/05/2019 02:26:AM
lib			11/05/2019 02:26:AM
paper_slides			11/05/2019 02:27:AM
setup			11/05/2019 02:27:AM
survey_instruments			11/05/2019 02:27:AM
README.md	text/x-web-markdown	21.6 KB	11/15/2019 08:15:AM
README.pdf	application/pdf	133 KB	11/15/2019 08:10:AM

Project Citation:

Allcott, Hunt, Braghieri, Luca, Eichmeyer, Sarah, and Gentzkow, Matthew. Replication Archive for: The Welfare Effects of Social Media. Nashville, TN: American Economic Association [publisher], 2020. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2020-02-28. https://doi.org/10.3886/E112081V1

Project Description

Summary:

The rise of social media has provoked both optimism about potential societal benefits and concern about harms such as addiction, depression, and political polarization. In a randomized experiment, we find that deactivating Facebook for the four weeks before the 2018 US midterm election (i) reduced online activity, while increasing offline activities such as watching TV alone and socializing with family and friends; (ii) reduced both factual news knowledge and political polarization; (iii) increased subjective well-being; and (iv) caused a large persistent reduction in post-experiment Facebook use. Deactivation reduced post-experiment valuations of Facebook, suggesting that traditional metrics may overstate consumer surplus.

Scope of Project

Subject Terms: Social media; Political polarization; Subjective well-being; Consumer surplus from digital technologies

JEL Classification:
      D12 Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
      D90 Micro-Based Behavioral Economics: General
      I31 General Welfare; Well-Being
      L86 Information and Internet Services; Computer Software
      O33 Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes

Related Publications

Download this project

Published Versions

V1 [2020-02-28]

Export Metadata

Dublin Core

DDI 2.5

Report a Problem

Found a serious problem with the data, such as disclosure risk or copyrighted content? Let us know.

This material is distributed exactly as it arrived from the data depositor. ICPSR has not checked or processed this material. Users should consult the investigator(s) if further information is desired.