Understanding the costs of social media
A Hamilton Project virtual event

Tuesday, June 2, 2026, 1:00 - 2:30 p.m. EDT 
Online only: https://www.hamiltonproject.org/event/understanding-the-costs-of-social-media/ 

From landmark trials against social media companies to both proposed and enacted social media bans, this year has seen “a growing backlash against social media and its effects on young people.” Simultaneously, a growing body of research has raised concerns about social media’s impacts on all users, not just youth and children. 

On June 2, The Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution will host a virtual event exploring the costs of social media, including overuse driven by addiction and “fear of missing out” (FOMO). The event will feature a fireside chat with Dr. Vivek Murthy (19th and 21st surgeon general of the United States). It will also include a panel discussion with Benjamin Handel (University of California, Berkeley) and Lena Song (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign), moderated by Bradley Hardy (Georgetown University).

In conjunction with the event, The Hamilton Project will release two publications discussing the findings and policy implications of recent economic research on product market traps in social media and on digital addiction.

For updates on the event, viewers can follow @HamiltonProj on Twitter/X or @hamiltonproject.org 
on Bluesky. To ask questions, join the conversation using #SocialMediaCosts or email info@hamiltonproject.org.