Last week, I read two postings on LinkedIn that I\u2019ve thought about every day since. The first was an essay extolling the virtues of social science. The argument went something like this: As social scientists, we\u2019re dispassionately committed to finding the truth. When we\u2019re proved wrong, we accept it and move on, so the truth, in the end, prevails. Society benefits as we become better and better at treating mental disorders. <\/p>\n
One can take many issues with this argument, but let\u2019s set those aside for the moment and consider the functions LinkedIn serves for social scientists. Until this year, I\u2019d paid little attention<\/a> to LinkedIn since shortly after it launched in 2003. At that time, LinkedIn was used mostly to find jobs, and I hadn\u2019t been on the open market in decades. That changed when I recently left academia, so onto LinkedIn I went. <\/p>\n I expected the same old professional networking site people used to find jobs back in the day. Yes, that job-finding function remains, but there\u2019s much, much more to LinkedIn than before (e.g., the opinion piece I mention above). What I found most surprising is the deep entwinement of social and professional networking. Many users post content and comments every day, with extended discussions that countless others weigh in on, often in socially familiar terms (there are no doubt upsides to this, but that\u2019s for another day). <\/p>\n The Blending of Social Media and Professional Networking <\/p>\n I\u2019m sure the melding of social media<\/a> with professional networking is news to no one but me, yet the contrast between two decades ago and now is instructive. Like all social media, LinkedIn curates its content. As users visit others\u2019 announcements, comments, and postings, they get fed more of what they like and less of what they don\u2019t like. They build their own networks by adding contacts, and many praise their colleagues with assorted emojis. \u201cLikes,\u201d \u201ccelebrates,\u201d \u201csupports,\u201d \u201cloves,\u201d and more. In these ways, LinkedIn is just like Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok. <\/p>\n Among other acts, users post their journal articles, write opinion pieces, and repost articles from others that agree with or reflect well on their own work. Because LinkedIn is curated, users are more likely to see scientific content they agree with and that aligns with their own views, creating echo chambers that elevate selected perspectives and minimize others\u2014not a recipe for objective or dispassionate thinking. <\/p>\n This brings me to self-promotion, a natural outgrowth of modern social media. It seems, at least by my read, that overstatements and exaggerations have become the norm on LinkedIn. Last week alone I read of \u201cscientific breakthroughs,\u201d \u201cgame-changing therapies,\u201d \u201cprofoundly innovative technologies,\u201d \u201cmilestone achievements,\u201d and \u201cturning points\u201d in research on mental illnesses including addiction<\/a>, schizophrenia, autism<\/a>, and post-traumatic<\/a> stress<\/a> disorder. <\/p>\n Misleading Impressions and the Reality of Scientific Advances <\/p>\n What might an intelligent but social science-na\u00efve reader take from these descriptions? If every week brings scientific breakthroughs, game-changing therapies, innovative technologies, and milestone achievements in research, shouldn\u2019t we have cured or at least come close to curing mental illness by now? The objective \u201ctruth,\u201d however, is that we\u2019re little better at treating most mental health problems than we were 50 years ago, a few bright spots notwithstanding. <\/p>\n How does this stack up with the argument that social science is dispassionate and truth-seeking, and with the notion that society benefits as we become better and better at treating mental disorders? <\/p>\n The second LinkedIn post that stuck with me all week concerned public trust in science, which is now at an all-time low. The author placed blame squarely on politically motivated cynicism<\/a>, based on an article in the public domain. I have no doubt politics<\/a> contributes, but we need to examine our own unending promises of breakthroughs, innovations, and cures that never materialize. In the long run, over-promising and under-delivering isn\u2019t the way to gain public trust. To the extent \u201cbig T\u201d truth exists and can be discovered, exaggerating our work\u2019s importance and implications isn\u2019t the way to get there. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Last week, I read two postings on LinkedIn that I\u2019ve thought about every day since. 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