Earlier this year social psychologist Jonathan Haidt wrote a book that made waves titled The Anxious Generation. Among other things, the book explains how social media is contributing to the rise of mental illness in children, and many of his readers are not surprised. People have speculated for years that social media is to blame for everything from fake news to narcissism. It's hard to find anyone who has anything good to say about it, but then again, who isn't on at least one platform? Who hasn't used TikTok, Instagram, Facebook or X to share a piece of exciting news or to organise a lunch date.

We hate it, but we love it. It can be used to sell tickets to events like this one, or stock market crashes with viral misinformation. How many people carefully check the sources of the videos and photos they share (or even just watch), from violent visuals to political propaganda?

Join us, Wednesday night 31 July, as we delve into the pros and cons of social media as a part of our everyday life, how it helps us and how it hurts us. We welcome Dr. Jarrod Sansom, Kassy King and Lisa Allan who will all share stories and information on how social media has changed society's fabric like never before. We've allocated lots of time for discussion. Questions, comments and respectful disagreement are always encouraged.

Common Ground’s Mission Statement

Worried by the heated and divisive state of public discussion today, we seek to build a conversational community to facilitate productive discussion and critical thinking about complex and controversial issues. People with different opinions and perspectives are welcome. Common Ground is a place to share and a space to listen.

Come along. Learn something new, make a friend! BYOB. (Bring Your Own Brain).

When & Where

Wednesday, 31 July at The Base Health in Newcastle West.

Doors open from 6:30pm and we aim to wrap up by 9. Tea and coffee available.

Meet the Guests!

Dr Jarrod Sansom is a communicator, hurdler, and performer with an impressive CV for his young 26 years. Jarrod comes to Common Ground to specifically discuss his PhD research from the University of Newcastle, where he asked "how does Facebook cultivate perceptions of ‘us against them’ among social groups who think differently about climate change?" Jarrod has also studied "us against them" attitudes between social groups who think differently about Muslims. His research has been published in The Journal of Communication and Media Studies. Come learn about Jarrod's research and findings. We will discuss why he asked this question, what he discovered about our current state of division, and what we can do in our own lives to reduce algorithmic effects and avoid isolated echo chambers.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jarrod-sansom/

Kassy King is a local artist whose clever decorations and homewares have grown her quite a following on Instagram, but that's not why we bring her to Common Ground. Rather, it's Kassy's cat, @PotatoThePersian who broke the internet on March 15th when Kassy and her partner uploaded a short video of Potato playing in a box. The video amassed over 40 million views, and with that came attention and unsolicited opinions that Kassy never dreamed of. Come hear Kassy's story of how a short video changed her life. (Potato remains unaffected.)

https://www.instagram.com/kassykingdesigns/

Newcastle Herald Editor Lisa Allan is a former deputy editor and night editor who also worked on the production desk with Guardian Australia. Passionate about championing local causes and producing trustworthy investigative journalism, she started her career at the Macleay Argus at Kempsey, she worked at Australian Associated Press as a court reporter and at the Maitland Mercury before first joining the Newcastle Herald. Lisa joins our panel to talk about not only her decades of print media experience, but also to share her knowledge regarding digital and social media and the role both play on how people understand the news.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-allan-8b9487152/

Alex Morris is a writer, content creator, MC and events organiser. Originally from the States, she's lived in Newcastle for over a decade and has been involved in hosting and running all kinds of interesting and fun events. She loves throwing/attending a good party and equally adores intelligent, thought-provoking conversation. Learn more about Alex by reading her Substack Newsletter, The Weekly Write.

Tim Cox left the corporate world to start his own digital consulting business as Facebook first went viral. He saw where things were headed and closed his account within weeks of signing up; jokingly declaring himself a "conscientious objector" and making a point of not offering social media marketing to his clients. But he couldn't get off the train so easily. In 2012 he cofounded the UoN Philosophy Society, choosing to custom build a social platform for the club rather than rely on existing systems. Nobody used it and within a few weeks it was riddled with fake Russian bot accounts. He's lived in this tension ever since - seeing social media as a crucial communications channel for community groups and small businesses, while it also does serious harm to society. At least in its current form.

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