There’s been a lot of talk in the news recently about Facebook, and much of the discussion has centered on Facebook’s role in politics and journalism and user privacy. But there are other discussions about Facebook’s product itself, focusing on users’ well-being and psychological health. Specifically, some political commentators are making somewhat inaccurate and exaggerated claims about the psychology of Facebook—that it’s unhealthy, making users feel depressed and/or lonely. It’s important that we think critically about this topic, so this article is devoted to fact-checking such claims.

In a

The newest installment of the Star Wars saga, The Last Jedi, was released last month. Despite critical success, the film has been met with a polarized audience reaction online. Although likely not the primary reason for polarization, some of the negative reaction can be attributed to the perceived progressive, feminist political message of the main characters[1]: The primary protagonist, Rey, is a woman; the two most prominent White men, Kylo Ren and General Hux, are villains. Behind the scenes, women have powerful roles in the franchise, as president of Lucasfilm (Kathleen Kennedy) and as the