Social Media, Our Very Favorite Cesspool

The New York Times Audio app includes podcasts, narrated articles from the newsroom and other publishers, as well as exclusive new shows — including this one — which we’re making available to readers for a limited time. Download the audio app here.In just one week, more than 100 million people have signed up for Meta’s new Threads app.On “Matter of Opinion,” the hosts ask why so many people are joining, given how much we love to hate on social media, and whether “social” media is even social anymore.(A full transcript of the episode will be available midday on the Times website.) Mentioned in this episode:Anti-Social Media: How Facebook Has Disconnected Citizens and Undermined Democracy by Siva Vaidhyanathan More from the hosts:“How Twitter Shrank Elon Musk and Ron DeSantis,” by Ross Douthat for The New York Times“It’s Not a Good Sign When People Who Don’t Pay for News Have So Little to Choose From,” by Lydia Polgreen for The New York Times“The Inside Joke That Became Trump’s Big Lie,” by Carlos Lozada for The New York Times