News/Research

Created Equal: Can tech regulation solve mental health issues?

25 Apr, 2024

Created Equal: Can tech regulation solve mental health issues?

danah boyd (BCNM alum!) is a Partner Researcher at Microsoft Research and a Distinguished Visiting Professor at Georgetown University. danah is also the founder of Data & Society and examines the intersection between technology and society.

danah recently featured on Detroit Public Radio, WDET 101.9FM, focusing on the topic , "Can tech regulation solve mental health issues?"

From the show:

Congress members in February collected enough signatures in the U.S. Senate to pass a bipartisan bill that would regulate social media use for kids. They argue the platforms could be bad for teen’s mental health.

According to a longitudinal survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a growing percentage of teenage students are feeling hopeless. Danah Boyd, a Microsoft researcher and visiting professor at Georgetown, believes technology is not the real problem and that regulating social media could do more harm than good.

Boyd joined Stephen Henderson on Created Equal Monday to explore how society has responded throughout history to new technologies and discuss why Boyd believes the real problem isn’t our phone screens.

Listen to the full show here!