Ted Audio Collective.

When I use social media, it's like your diet.

It's like, trust me, like I'd rather have like a chocolate cake right now,

but like I'm actually going to go have a

salad for lunch because I'm 46 and like if I have a chocolate cake for lunch every day it's like not

going to work for me.

Hey everyone it's Adam Grant.

Welcome back to Rethinking, my podcast on the science of what makes us tick

with the TED Audio Collective.

I'm an organizational psychologist, and I'm taking you inside the minds of

fascinating people to explore new thoughts and new ways of thinking.

My guest today is Jay Van Bevel. He's a professor of psychology and

neuroscience at NYU and an award-winning teacher, researcher, and writer. His book,

The Power of Us with Dominic Packer is a great read on how to overcome our differences.

Jay is also a leading expert on why what goes viral often makes us miserable and how to change that.

It's like taking out the tiny tumor in your brain so you don't have seizures anymore. Like that's how we do surgery.

I think like this is a level of which it might help if people knew that and they could like figure out

what those accounts were and unfollow them they might actually enjoy their

online experience a lot more.

All right Jay I have to tell you, part of the reason that you're here among many is I find

the news incredibly depressing. And don't even want to

and I'm hoping you're going to cure that.

...