Pod Save America - Offline: Dr. Vivek Murthy on Defeating Doomscrolling with Human Connection

Episode Date: December 12, 2021

Offline is here to stay and the show has moved to its own feed. To listen to Jon's interview with Dr. Vivek Murthy, and the many great episodes to come, search Offline with Jon Favreau and click subscribe. See you there!Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy joins Jon on Offline to dissect the intersection between the internet and our emotional well-being. Dr. Murthy delivers a doctor’s diagnosis on Jon’s ceaseless doomscrolling, breaks down the impacts the pandemic and our increasing time online have had on our mental health, and makes the case for what it means to live a truly meaningful, connected life.For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email [e-mail] and include the name of the podcast.

The number of connections we have is not determined by how many followers we have on social media or how many people, you know, we might invite to a general holiday party. It's really determined by the number of people with whom we feel we can show up as ourselves, with whom we can be vulnerable, with whom we can be truly open. That's what defines the highest quality connections. L.M. Sikassas, who's a technology theorist you may be familiar with, wrote this great essay early in the pandemic about doom scrolling. And he basically argues that what we need in times of uncertainty, like the one we're living through, is not more information, which probably won't give us the certainty that we're craving, but more friendship, which helps sustain us through the uncertainty. I'm Jon Favreau. Welcome to Offline.

Hey, everyone. Exciting news. Offline is here to stay, and the show has now moved to its own feed. If you'd like to listen to my full interview with Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, you can find it on that new feed. Just search Offline with Jon Favreau. Once you're over there, remember to subscribe to keep up to date with all of our upcoming episodes. We've got some exciting conversations ready to go over the next few months. I'll see you there.