After 6 years of writing (and having sacrificed a good chunk of sanity), my first book comes out today! The Hidden Psychology of Social Networks. AMA!

[u/JarethKingofGoblins]

Hey r/Books! I've been a Redditor for about 10 years (not all on this account :) and this community inspired me to think differently about what's possible in social networks. I see in Reddit something deeply special and unique. I think anonymity and free speech are worth protecting. 

I'm a long-time Internet dork, spent many of my middle school days on forums and 4chan, and I've been working in social media since I graduated from college. In 2016, I started Reddit's Brand Strategy team, and I was able to work with some awesome brands on campaigns that tried to add value back to the Reddit community—Cozmo Lost in Reddit, Audi Think Faster, Adobe's r/Layer, and a bunch of others. 

This book is equal parts Internet theory and application of that theory. My hope is that it's interesting to anyone who enjoys Internet theory and that it's particularly valuable to those in marketing, advertising, communications, and even aspiring influencers and content creators. I know marketing is a dirty word on Reddit, and trust me, I more than understand (something something how the sausage gets made). But the truth is that marketing doesn't have to suck. It just happens to right now (for the most part). I'd like to see that change!  

Proof: /img/cuczoea22em51.jpg

[u/Biggeasy]

Congrats on the book!

Is there a minimum age limit that you'd suggest for folks to meet before utilizing social media and why?

[u/JarethKingofGoblins → u/Biggeasy]

This is a really good question, and I think it will require a different answer for different people in different cultures. there's no question that having a cell phone and access to social media is becoming a norm for kids earlier than is probably healthy. But forcing a kid to isolate themselves from a social arena in which all of their peers are playing may ostracize them and affect social development.

I think there are two factors here that we don't talk about enough: 1) types of "social media" and 2) time spent.

Reddit and Instagram feel similar on the surface. On mobile, they're both scrollable feeds filled with pictures and videos, you can scroll endlessly, you take actions to indicate which posts you enjoy, etc. But the relationship between the user and the content is totally different.

On Instagram, we're clearly identifiable as our offline selves, and we're in a mode of representing that self to the world. We also tend to manifest an idealized version of ourselves. As we scroll through content, we can't help but compare our full, complex lives to everyone else's highlights. That's a recipe for dissatisfaction, and it's been shown to be the most harmful platform to mental health.

On Reddit, we're anonymous and organized around interest-based communities. That means we don't care so much about representing versions of ourselves, we're more often in modes of exploring new ideas, engaging in conversation, and enjoying the freedom anonymity provides. Online communities seem less problematic to people's mental health than individualized social media feeds.

Time spent is another factor that I think is grossly overlooked. 30 minutes of meditation a day can have drastic impacts on our psychological states. 12 hours a day on social media can too. Social media is a window into our "neighbors'" lives, and while we're predisposed to peaking over at what our neighbors are doing, it's not healthy for us to simply glue ourselves to the window to watch and compare ourselves to everyone else.

[u/usuarioborgiano]

Happy to see this, man, congrats.

Hope you have even more ideas and the willpower to write them down.

[u/forestpunk]

O, no way, just added this to my to-read list! Didn't realize it'd just come out today! So, first of all, congratulations! And thank you so much for all of your hard work and contributions to society.

I've not had a chance to read your book yet (somewhat obviously), but this is a topic I follow closely. My question is a two part one: 1. Since your book is dealing largely with social networks, do you have any advice or know of any resources for how to identify verified information vs. misinformation on social media?

&

2. Do you have any observations or ways to measure how things that happen online trickle into day-to-day life? People seem to have this "It's just the Internet," attitude, but it's fairly obvious that things that happen online have consequences IRL.

[u/ze_potate]

Congrats on the book! Can you elaborate on what you mean by "marketing doesn't have to suck" online? As in, what are the better ways of going about it? Especially since so much of our online lives are built around/driven by rampant data collection & sale, usually for advertising?

[u/HouseCopeland]

What are some social media "rules and norms" you would put if place if you were in control? Thinking about teens but also the boomer generation who I've noticed have absolutely no idea how to use social media properly either.

[u/[deleted]]

[u/wildroam]

Congrats on the book!

I see you mentioned you used various social network websites over time, but was there anything in particular that made you want to write about them?

[u/bremidon]

Congrats and I am jealous.

I have a side question for you: we are starting a project at work and I have played with idea of using the experience to write a book. Any quick suggestions? Including shouting "don't do it" at me in three languages?

[u/[deleted]]

Congratulations.