John Burn-Murdoch
@jburnmurdoch.ft.com
Columnist and chief data reporter the Financial Times | Stories, stats & scatterplots | [email protected]
📝 ft.com/jbm
📝 ft.com/jbm
• Combo of 1 and 2 means people then perceive the types of views expressed in those sorts of posts as much more widely held, and become more likely to post them themselves
All shown in recent studies.
All shown in recent studies.
November 23, 2025 at 10:37 PM
• Combo of 1 and 2 means people then perceive the types of views expressed in those sorts of posts as much more widely held, and become more likely to post them themselves
All shown in recent studies.
All shown in recent studies.
• Algorithms push things that get strongest reactions (ditto). TikTok-style algorithms based on dwell time as opposed to active likes/shares are especially likely to up-weight negativity towards outgroup
November 23, 2025 at 10:37 PM
• Algorithms push things that get strongest reactions (ditto). TikTok-style algorithms based on dwell time as opposed to active likes/shares are especially likely to up-weight negativity towards outgroup
It’s all of the above, no? Reams of recent evidence that content people encounter on social media is highly polarised.
Several mechanisms empirically demonstrated:
• Instant audience metrics mean stronger incentive to post things you think will get a big reaction (often hostility to outgroup)
Several mechanisms empirically demonstrated:
• Instant audience metrics mean stronger incentive to post things you think will get a big reaction (often hostility to outgroup)
November 23, 2025 at 10:37 PM
It’s all of the above, no? Reams of recent evidence that content people encounter on social media is highly polarised.
Several mechanisms empirically demonstrated:
• Instant audience metrics mean stronger incentive to post things you think will get a big reaction (often hostility to outgroup)
Several mechanisms empirically demonstrated:
• Instant audience metrics mean stronger incentive to post things you think will get a big reaction (often hostility to outgroup)
Absolutely. Advent of audience metrics is a key part of the Noy and Rao cable TV thesis.
November 23, 2025 at 10:21 PM
Absolutely. Advent of audience metrics is a key part of the Noy and Rao cable TV thesis.
More likely my fault!
The dynamics I keep coming back to in my writing are:
1) Explosion of highly engaging entertainment (incl social media) directly displaces time watching straight news
2) New news media doesn’t stay within old terms of debate
3) 1 & 2 lead old media to shift in same direction
The dynamics I keep coming back to in my writing are:
1) Explosion of highly engaging entertainment (incl social media) directly displaces time watching straight news
2) New news media doesn’t stay within old terms of debate
3) 1 & 2 lead old media to shift in same direction
November 23, 2025 at 9:53 PM
More likely my fault!
The dynamics I keep coming back to in my writing are:
1) Explosion of highly engaging entertainment (incl social media) directly displaces time watching straight news
2) New news media doesn’t stay within old terms of debate
3) 1 & 2 lead old media to shift in same direction
The dynamics I keep coming back to in my writing are:
1) Explosion of highly engaging entertainment (incl social media) directly displaces time watching straight news
2) New news media doesn’t stay within old terms of debate
3) 1 & 2 lead old media to shift in same direction
The glorious isolation era of yore is what I’m contrasting to the “everything is flattened into entertainment” era today
November 23, 2025 at 9:35 PM
The glorious isolation era of yore is what I’m contrasting to the “everything is flattened into entertainment” era today
I’m very much not assuming that 🙂 bsky.app/profile/jbur...
Yup. It’s incentives all the way down, both on the demand and supply side.
Problem is this is a return to the natural state of things, not a distortion. Combination of regulation, high barriers to entry and the technologies of the day kept things relatively staid for a while. New world now.
Problem is this is a return to the natural state of things, not a distortion. Combination of regulation, high barriers to entry and the technologies of the day kept things relatively staid for a while. New world now.
November 23, 2025 at 9:33 PM
I’m very much not assuming that 🙂 bsky.app/profile/jbur...
Another good way of putting it, yep!
November 23, 2025 at 9:25 PM
Another good way of putting it, yep!
Yup. It’s incentives all the way down, both on the demand and supply side.
Problem is this is a return to the natural state of things, not a distortion. Combination of regulation, high barriers to entry and the technologies of the day kept things relatively staid for a while. New world now.
Problem is this is a return to the natural state of things, not a distortion. Combination of regulation, high barriers to entry and the technologies of the day kept things relatively staid for a while. New world now.
November 23, 2025 at 8:49 PM
Yup. It’s incentives all the way down, both on the demand and supply side.
Problem is this is a return to the natural state of things, not a distortion. Combination of regulation, high barriers to entry and the technologies of the day kept things relatively staid for a while. New world now.
Problem is this is a return to the natural state of things, not a distortion. Combination of regulation, high barriers to entry and the technologies of the day kept things relatively staid for a while. New world now.
From one of the most important studies I read this year: www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/27v4x...
(Which, me being a massive nerd, makes me think we should do study of the year as well as books of the year 🤓)
(Which, me being a massive nerd, makes me think we should do study of the year as well as books of the year 🤓)
www.dropbox.com
November 23, 2025 at 8:26 PM
From one of the most important studies I read this year: www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/27v4x...
(Which, me being a massive nerd, makes me think we should do study of the year as well as books of the year 🤓)
(Which, me being a massive nerd, makes me think we should do study of the year as well as books of the year 🤓)
This chart (which applies even more to social media than it did to TV) lives in my head rent free.
Social media enveloping traditional media means everything and everyone is now competing in the entertainment market. Boring stuff like policy that affects millions of lives doesn’t stand a chance.
Social media enveloping traditional media means everything and everyone is now competing in the entertainment market. Boring stuff like policy that affects millions of lives doesn’t stand a chance.
November 23, 2025 at 8:24 PM
This chart (which applies even more to social media than it did to TV) lives in my head rent free.
Social media enveloping traditional media means everything and everyone is now competing in the entertainment market. Boring stuff like policy that affects millions of lives doesn’t stand a chance.
Social media enveloping traditional media means everything and everyone is now competing in the entertainment market. Boring stuff like policy that affects millions of lives doesn’t stand a chance.
No difference. Space constraints led me to go for the shorter wording in the second category, but I can see why this could be confusing!
November 22, 2025 at 11:27 AM
No difference. Space constraints led me to go for the shorter wording in the second category, but I can see why this could be confusing!
Yep that’s correct
November 21, 2025 at 11:26 AM
Yep that’s correct
Honestly yep.
The unemployed (i.e want to be working but can’t find a job) are the potential rioters.
The completely dislocated group are not.
The unemployed (i.e want to be working but can’t find a job) are the potential rioters.
The completely dislocated group are not.
November 20, 2025 at 3:38 PM
Honestly yep.
The unemployed (i.e want to be working but can’t find a job) are the potential rioters.
The completely dislocated group are not.
The unemployed (i.e want to be working but can’t find a job) are the potential rioters.
The completely dislocated group are not.
I mean, some of this group would have been on the streets in Southport last summer…
November 20, 2025 at 12:19 PM
I mean, some of this group would have been on the streets in Southport last summer…
The Resolution Foundation think the recent changes (which are especially large by historical standards) are likely to have an impact: www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications...
Minimum wage, maximum pressure? • Resolution Foundation
Looking ahead to the future of the minimum wage, we make four recommendations to the Government and the Low Pay Commission (LPC). First, tax policy should go with the grain of minimum wage policy, not...
www.resolutionfoundation.org
November 20, 2025 at 10:47 AM
The Resolution Foundation think the recent changes (which are especially large by historical standards) are likely to have an impact: www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications...
Ha, I spent far too long trying to come up one! Funnily enough @timleunig.bsky.social had exactly the same suggestion as you!
November 20, 2025 at 10:34 AM
Ha, I spent far too long trying to come up one! Funnily enough @timleunig.bsky.social had exactly the same suggestion as you!
Worse still, the increase in time spent alone has been especially steep among this economically and socially dislocated group.
*Seven hours* of daily free time spent completely solitary in the most recent US data.
My column from last week in full: www.ft.com/content/bd61...
*Seven hours* of daily free time spent completely solitary in the most recent US data.
My column from last week in full: www.ft.com/content/bd61...
Young adults are growing increasingly economically dislocated
A disconnected class is taking shape, but is absent from the headline statistics
www.ft.com
November 20, 2025 at 10:25 AM
Worse still, the increase in time spent alone has been especially steep among this economically and socially dislocated group.
*Seven hours* of daily free time spent completely solitary in the most recent US data.
My column from last week in full: www.ft.com/content/bd61...
*Seven hours* of daily free time spent completely solitary in the most recent US data.
My column from last week in full: www.ft.com/content/bd61...
Many factors at play:
• Housing crisis (people living with parents less likely to enter labour market)
• Rising anxiety & other mental health challenges (makes transition into work harder, esp in UK due to fears of losing benefits)
• Steep rise in youth minimum wage (less hiring of young people)
• Housing crisis (people living with parents less likely to enter labour market)
• Rising anxiety & other mental health challenges (makes transition into work harder, esp in UK due to fears of losing benefits)
• Steep rise in youth minimum wage (less hiring of young people)
November 20, 2025 at 10:25 AM
Many factors at play:
• Housing crisis (people living with parents less likely to enter labour market)
• Rising anxiety & other mental health challenges (makes transition into work harder, esp in UK due to fears of losing benefits)
• Steep rise in youth minimum wage (less hiring of young people)
• Housing crisis (people living with parents less likely to enter labour market)
• Rising anxiety & other mental health challenges (makes transition into work harder, esp in UK due to fears of losing benefits)
• Steep rise in youth minimum wage (less hiring of young people)
Indeed! But the new method is a smart way to approach it, and internal reports into the passenger survey had long identified emigration counts as a particular weakness.
November 19, 2025 at 9:38 PM
Indeed! But the new method is a smart way to approach it, and internal reports into the passenger survey had long identified emigration counts as a particular weakness.