Health influencers on the harms of social media

In this week’s STATus Report, host Alex Hogan sat down with influential content creators and health communicators Jessica Knurick, Morgan “Dr. Noc” McSweeny and Jessica Malaty Rivera to discuss the mental health impacts of social media. “I’ve seen it affect my mental health. I mean, I know how I feel when I’m scrolling,” said Malaty Rivera, an infectious disease epidemiologist with nearly half a million instagram followers, “I’ve done a few [social media] fasts here and there and noticed the relief, the reduced anxiety, the reduced, questioning of like, ‘should I be online?’” This week’s episode also features some key moments from STAT’s recent Breakthrough EastSummit in New York, including senior HHS official Chris Klomp on the ongoing search for a new CDC director, and former FDA official Robert Califf discussing the turmoil currently plaguing the agency. More from STAT: Become a subscriber: https://www.statnews.com/stat-plus/ Watch Full Episodes: https://www.youtube.com/@Statnews Newsletters: https://www.statnews.com/signup/ STAT events: https://www.statnews.com/stat-events/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/statnews Twitter: https://twitter.com/statnews Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/status_report_ig/ Flipboard: rb.gy/3xnsxr STAT Reports: https://rb.gy/rexfwj STAT eBooks: https://rb.gy/eme3h5 0:00 Intro 1:35 Concerns about social media and mental health 4:18 Algorithm influence on choosing topics 7:10 What changes could be made to algorithms? 11:09 HHS's Chris Klomp on CDC director search 12:26 Former FDA commissioner on FDA turmoil ABOUT STAT: Founded in 2015, STAT is a global digital media brand that focuses on delivering fast, deep, and tough-minded journalism about the life sciences industries to over six million monthly site visitors and an additional 20 million readers on the Apple News app. STAT takes you inside academic labs, biotech boardrooms, and political backrooms, casting a critical eye on scientific discoveries, scrutinizing corporate strategies, and chronicling the roiling battles for talent, money, and market share. With an award-winning newsroom, STAT provides indispensable insights and exclusive stories on the technologies, personalities, power brokers, and political forces driving massive changes in the life sciences industry — and a revolution in human health.