What Your Online Self Reveals About You
Every day, we leave small traces of ourselves online. And we might not realize what these traces say about us. This week, computational social scientist Sandra Matz explores how understanding what we actually do online — not just what we think we do — can help us improve our lives.
- Duration
- 59m
- Broadcast on
- 16 Dec 2024
- Audio Format
- other
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Every day, we leave small traces of ourselves online. And we might not realize what these traces say about us. This week, computational social scientist Sandra Matz explores how understanding what we actually do online – not just what we think we do – can help us improve our lives.
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This is Hidden Brain. I'm Shankar Vedanta. I have a question for you. How well do you know yourself? Chances are, you'll tell me you know yourself very well. All of us like to believe this. We feel like we know ourselves better than anyone else does. Every day we make choices based on this knowledge we have of ourselves. We decide how to spend our money, who to vote for, where to go for dinner, based on what we know of our predilections and preferences. But our knowledge of ourselves is not always accurate. A host of biases and self-deceptions keep us from seeing ourselves clearly. When you ask people how smart they are or how ethical they are or how good-looking they are, for example, majority say they are above average, which of course is mathematically impossible. But it isn't just about vanity. How many times have you gone to a restaurant you've been to before and ordered the same dish you ordered last time only to remember after you started eating it that you didn't like it the last time? Or think about your last romantic entanglement that ended in disaster. By the time it ended, did you wonder how your past self could have gotten involved with someone so unsuitable? Over the last few decades, researchers in a variety of disciplines have discovered there is a much better way to understand people than to ask them questions. When you ask people what books they like to read, people will tell you about the novels and biographies they think they ought to like. If you ask them what movies they want to watch, they will tell you about the movies they aspirationally want to watch. But if instead you look at the books that people actually read or the movies they actually watch, it usually paints a different picture of their preferences. This week on Hidden Brain, how understanding what we do instead of listening to what we say can help us make better financial choices, improve our physical and mental health, and maybe even bridge our political divides. Support for Hidden Brain comes from Instagram. Instagram teen accounts automatic protections limit who can contact teens, the content they can see, and the time they spend on the app. Teens are automatically placed into teen accounts. Teens under 16 will need a parent's permission to change any of those settings to be less strict. Learn more about teen accounts and Instagram's ongoing work to protect teens online at instagram.com/teenaccounts. Support for Hidden Brain comes from Defender. Even the boldest journey starts small with a single decision to go somewhere new. The Defender 110 is a vehicle built for those moments for drivers capable of great things whether they're headed toward uncharted territory or just a weekend away. The Defender 110 combines on-road presence with off-road capability. It looks tough because it is with an exterior engineered for durability. Inside, capability meets comfort with seating for five and the option for seven plus refined finishes and thoughtful design. It's also packed with intuitive tech like 3D surround cameras with clear-side ground view to help you navigate rough terrain and the next-generation PIVI Pro infotainment system designed to keep you informed, connected and in control no matter the path. The Defender 110 is naturally capable,
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Every day, we leave small traces of ourselves online. And we might not realize what these traces say about us. This week, computational social scientist Sandra Matz explores how understanding what we actually do online — not just what we think we do — can help us improve our lives.