Informative Synthesis—Sources & Resources

🔍 General Research Sites—Multiple Sources Available

Technologically Connected Society—kelli.ninja on YouTube Playlist Note from Kelli: This is my running playlist of videos for this essay. Many of them are also listed by topic below, and I add new ones here first, so check back.
The Pew Research Center Website A major nonpartisan research organization with data-driven articles on technology, social media, news habits, and more. Search by topic to find sources relevant to your essay.
Our World in Data Website Research and data visualizations on a wide range of global topics. Good for finding statistics and long-term trends related to technology, health, and society.
APA.org—Social Media and the Internet Website The American Psychological Association's topic page on social media and the internet—research, articles, and resources on mental health and technology.
The Brookings Institution—Social Media Website Policy research and analysis on social media from one of the leading nonpartisan think tanks in the US.

🔷 Technology, Society & Culture—General & Foundational

Symbols, Values & Norms: Crash Course Sociology #10 Video A foundational framework for analyzing how technology fits into—and changes—social structures. A good starting point for almost any topic in this essay.
A Few Rules for Predicting the Future—Octavia E. Butler Reading
A History of Panic Over Entertainment Technology—Behavioral Scientist Reading
The Sisyphean Cycle of Technology Panics Reading
The Perfect Match—Ken Liu (short story) Fiction A sci-fi story about AI, convenience, and surveillance—uncomfortably close to home. Works for almost any connected society topic.
The Pedestrian—Ray Bradbury (short story) Fiction
Just Do It (short story) Fiction —Audio version Podcast
Rocket Surgery—Effie Seiberg (short story, read aloud) Video
The Illusion of Truth—Veritasium Video How repetition makes things feel true—the illusory truth effect. Useful for essays on media, advertising, misinformation, or propaganda.
Why People Are So Confident When They're Wrong Video Connects to misinformation, media literacy, and how we form—and defend—false beliefs.
Truth vs. Reality: How We Evolved to Survive, Not to See What's Really There—Donald Hoffman | Big Think Video 27 min. A deeper look at how perception shapes what we think is real—connects to media, advertising, and misinformation.
Google, Facebook, Amazon: The Rise of the Mega-Corporations—DW Documentary Documentary 42 min. Also relevant to Privacy & Data and Advertising sections.
The Shitthropocene: Welcome to the Age of Cheap Crap—Patagonia Documentary 46 min. Consumer culture, advertising, and environmental/social consequences of disposable goods.
How Reading Changes the Way Your Brain Works—BBC World Service Video Reading, attention, and the brain.
Rise Against the Machines: The Luddites—The History Guy Video The real history behind the word "Luddite." Pairs well with the readings on technology panics above.
The Invention That Accidentally Made McMansions—Stewart Hicks Video How one invention quietly reshaped the way American houses look. A good example of technology changing culture in ways nobody planned.
Should We Separate Art from the Artist? Crash Course Art History #5—CrashCourse Video 11 min.

🧠 Social Media, Identity & Mental Health

Friend or Faux: Are Parasocial Relationships Healthy?—Cleveland Clinic Reading
Parasocial Relationships Can Tell Us a Lot about the Social Brain—Scientific American Reading
Beauty Filters Are Changing the Way Young Girls See Themselves—MIT Technology Review Reading
Understanding Social Media Literacy: A Systematic Review—International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health Reading
Americans' Social Media Use—Pew Research Center Reading
Teens' Experiences on TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat—Pew Research Center (April 2026) Reading A survey of about 1,500 U.S. teens and their parents. It covers why teens use each app, how often they post and message, which app they feel they spend too much time on, and where they run into harassment.
Social Media Is Harming Adolescents at a Scale Large Enough to Cause Changes at the Population Level—Jonathan Haidt and Zachary Rausch, World Happiness Report 2026 Reading Note from Kelli: The authors say up front that they're making the case for one side. They also name the researchers who disagree with them, which makes this a great map of the debate. Report their claims as theirs.
Nearly Half of Young Adults Report Loneliness in Eight-Country Study—Washington University in St. Louis (March 2026) Reading A survey of about 8,000 adults in eight countries, including the U.S. Close to half of 18- to 24-year-olds reported loneliness, compared with about 30% of people 55 and older. It doesn't look at technology, so pair it with the loneliness and friendship videos above.
What AI Teaches Us About Good Writing—Noema Magazine Reading
Is Beauty Culture Hurting Us?—Vox, Glad You Asked S1 Video 20 min. Social media, beauty standards, and identity. Also addresses advertising and gender.
How ChatGPT Slowly Destroys Your Brain—Justin Sung Video 17 min.
Why Did Our Friends Stop Posting on Social Media?—BBC Global Video 9 min.
People Are Partying Less. Here's Why That's Worrying.—BBC Global Video 14 min. Social isolation, technology, and changing social habits.
The Great Friendship Collapse: Inside The Anti-Social Century—Derek Thompson | Big Think Video 12 min.
Why You Should Stop Watching YouTube (Yes, Even This Video)—HealthyGamerGG Video 10 min. Screen time, dopamine, and mental health.
Why People Are Falling in Love with A.I. Companions—60 Minutes Australia Video 20 min. Also relevant to parasocial relationships and AI topics.
I Study the Future. We Should Pay Attention to Avatars—Sinead Bovell | TEDxRutgersCamden Video 13 min. Digital identity, avatars, and where technology is taking us.
Toxic Femininity in Barbie—Therapist Reacts!—Georgia Dow Video 17 min. Media representation, gender norms, and identity.
Redefining Masculinity & Embracing Vulnerability—The Daily Show Video 55 min. Gender, identity, and social norms.
Why Are People Starting to Sound Like ChatGPT?—Adam Aleksic | TED Video 5 min. AI's influence on language and communication.
Are We Cooked? How Social Media Shapes Language—Adam Aleksic | TED Video 14 min.
Is Social Media Censorship Unaliving Language?—Storied Video 7 min.
How to Pull Yourself Out of a Cheap Dopamine Spiral—Mark Manson | Big Think Video 18 min. Screens, quick rewards, and how to break the cycle.
Scientists Studied Doomscrolling. Here's What They Found.—BBC Global Video
The Algorithm Thinks It Knows Me—Elle Cordova Video A comedy sketch about recommendation algorithms.
The Mind Talks to No One (Yet You Listen)—SnakeSpeak Video

📱 Phones, Schools & Young People

What One High School Teacher Says About Phone Bans—CNN Reading
72% of High School Teachers Say Cellphone Distraction Is a Major Problem in the Classroom—Pew Research Center Reading
Inside the Latest Global Research on School Cellphone Bans—Jill Barshay, The Hechinger Report (May 2026) Reading A roundup of phone-ban studies from the U.S., Florida, Brazil, India, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and England. The results are more mixed than the headlines suggest.
School Cell Phone Bans May Boost Student Well-Being—but Not Test Scores—University of Michigan Youth Policy Lab A closer look at the biggest U.S. study in the roundup, which covers more than 40,000 schools.
Little Evidence That Australia's Under-16 Social Media Restrictions Have Curbed Use Among Adolescents—The BMJ (June 2026) Reading Australia banned social media accounts for kids under 16 in December 2025. Three months later, more than 85% of under-16s in this small study were still using the platforms. It's an early study of about 400 teens, so read it as a first look rather than the final word.
How the US Is Destroying Young People's Future—Scott Galloway | TED Video 18 min. Social media, tech companies, and young people's opportunities. Also relevant to Social Media & Identity.
AI and the Demise of College Writing—Adam Walker Video 12 min. AI, academic integrity, and what's happening to student writing.
My Phone Is Ruining My Life. So I Made This.—Aldi Jon Video 7 min.
Why Critical Thinking Is Disappearing: The Rise of Effortless Education—Justin Sung Video 11 min. Also relevant to AI topics.

📣 Advertising, Marketing & Persuasion

How Dove, Chocolate, Applebee's & IKEA Are Tingling Your Senses—CBC Under the Influence Podcast Sensory marketing—how brands deliberately use smell, sound, and touch to shape behavior and purchases.
Social Media and Advertising—Project MUSE / Johns Hopkins Reading
Measuring Neural Arousal for Advertisements and Its Relationship With Advertising Success—Frontiers in Neuroscience Reading
AdText Website Multiple articles on advertising focused on different groups and approaches. Browse for what's relevant to your topic.
Captive: How the Ad Industry Pins Us Down Reading EPCC SharePoint—log in with your EPCC credentials.
Types of Deceptive Design (Dark Patterns)—deceptive.design Website Catalogs 16 manipulative design techniques used in websites and apps—fake urgency, trick wording, hidden costs, and more. Strong source for topics on advertising, consumer behavior, or tech ethics.
Neuromarketing: How Brands Are Getting Your Brain to Buy More Stuff Video
Neuromarketing: How Brands Are Manipulating Your Brain—Java Discover Documentary 57 min. Full documentary.
How Apple and Nike Have Branded Your Brain—Big Think Video 5 min.
How Brands Use Design & Marketing to Control Your Mind—Design Theory Video 40 min.
How Consumer Propaganda Changed America—Epic Economics Video 24 min. Also relevant to Media Literacy and Bias.
Influence & Persuasion: Crash Course Media Literacy #6—CrashCourse Video 10 min.
How Ads (and People) Persuade You—SciShow Psych Video 5 min.
Targeted Ads: The Dark Side of Divulging Your Data—iluli by Mike Lamb Video 5 min. Also cross-listed under Privacy & Data.
Retail Tricks: How Stores Make You Spend More—CBC Marketplace Video 22 min. Sensory marketing, store design, and consumer manipulation.
What Is Sensory Marketing?—The Packaging School Video 3 min. Quick overview of how brands use the five senses.
IKEA Isn't Designed for Convenience, It's Designed to Make You Buy More!—Brendan Kane Video 30 sec. Short but punchy illustration of deliberate store design.
Rebranding Snickers for Gym Bros, Moms, and More—Matt Rosenman Video 2 min. Target marketing and brand identity in action.
Jon Stewart Smashes the Myth of Corporate Morality in Pride, BLM, and Beyond—The Daily Show Video 14 min. How corporations use social causes as marketing.
McMindfulness: When Capitalism Goes Buddhist—Elliot Sang Video 35 min. How corporations co-opt wellness and mindfulness culture for profit.
The Corporate Ripoff Scheme Looting Your Pocketbook—More Perfect Union Video 3 min.
We Uncovered a Multi-Million Dollar Plot to Change What You Eat—More Perfect Union Video 14 min. Food industry money and how it shapes what we eat.
The Incredible Logistics of Grocery Stores—Wendover Productions Video

👗 Fashion, Trends & Consumer Culture

Ultra-Fast Fashion Buyers Feel a Lack of Personal Responsibility Despite Environmental Concerns—ABC News Australia (September 2026) Reading Covers a study of Shein and Temu shoppers. They worried about the environment but bought anyway, driven by price, trends, and social validation. Note how small the study is (20 people).
How AI and Tariffs Are Transforming Fast Fashion—Stanford University (January 2026) Reading Research on how Shein and Temu use trend data to flood the market with new designs, and what happened when tariffs went up.
Turning Thrifty: Incorporating Secondhand Apparel into the Consumer Price Index—U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Monthly Labor Review (May 2026) Reading Thrifting has grown enough that the government now tracks secondhand clothing prices. Includes data on the growth of online resale and on younger shoppers. A good counterpoint to the fast-fashion sources.
We Had 400 People Shop for Groceries. What We Found Will Shock You.—More Perfect Union and Consumer Reports Video 19 min. Also cross-listed under Privacy & Data.
The Shitthropocene: Welcome to the Age of Cheap Crap—Patagonia Documentary 46 min. Also cross-listed under Technology & Society.

🔐 Privacy, Data & Surveillance

Data Brokers—EPIC (Electronic Privacy Information Center) Reading
Location Tracking—EPIC Reading
Online Advertising & Tracking—EPIC Reading
Data Security—EPIC Reading
AI in Law Enforcement—EPIC Reading
Communications Privacy—EPIC Reading
We Keep Our Data Safe: Resisting Biometric Surveillance Requires More Than Opting Out—Juliet Kunkel, YES! Magazine Reading 8 min read. How data about our bodies—period-tracking apps, facial scans at airports and concerts, workplace health tracking—gets collected and used, plus the longer history behind these systems. Kunkel points to collective responses, like the West Virginia teachers' strike over required Fitbits. Written from an advocacy perspective, so report her argument as hers.
What Is Data Ethics & Why Do We Need It?—Wall Street Technology Association Video 27 min.
Targeted Ads: The Dark Side of Divulging Your Data—iluli by Mike Lamb Video 5 min. Also cross-listed under Advertising.
Why Privacy Matters—Glenn Greenwald | TED Video 20 min.
Why Automakers Are Invading Your Privacy—CNBC Video 14 min. How cars have become surveillance devices.
Google, Facebook, Amazon: The Rise of the Mega-Corporations—DW Documentary Documentary 42 min. Also cross-listed under Technology & Society.
VFX Artists DEBUNK AI Influencers & Scams—Corridor Crew Video 20 min. Also relevant to AI & Misinformation.
Meta's $14.3B Investment in Scale AI—What It Means—Harper Carroll AI Video 3 min. The intersection of big tech, data, and AI development.
Ebooks, Kindle and the Erosion of Ownership—Plant Based Bride Video 14 min. Who really owns what you buy digitally—and what companies can take back.
We Had 400 People Shop for Groceries. What We Found Will Shock You.—More Perfect Union and Consumer Reports Video 19 min. Also cross-listed under Fashion, Trends & Consumer Culture.

🤖 AI, Misinformation & the Information Landscape

The Illusion of Truth—Veritasium Video How repetition creates the feeling of truth—the illusory truth effect. Also cross-listed under Technology & Society.
Why People Are So Confident When They're Wrong Video Also cross-listed under Technology & Society.
How to Safeguard Your Mind in the Age of Junk Information—Yuval Noah Harari | Big Think Video 13 min.
AI Slop: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver—HBO Video 29 min.
Can We Teach Our Moms to Spot Fake AI Videos?—Corridor Crew Video 16 min.
How to Spot Fake AI Photos—Hany Farid | TED Video 12 min.
VFX Artists DEBUNK AI Influencers & Scams—Corridor Crew Video 20 min. Also cross-listed under Privacy & Data.
STOP USING GENERATIVE A.I.—Thomas Benjamin Wild Esq (original song) Video 2 min. A creative take—could be an interesting way to introduce a section.
Why AI Pacing Has Become a False Choice—Jason Hiner, The Deep View Reading 5 min read. Should AI development speed up or slow down? Hiner argues that "full speed ahead" and "hit the brakes" are two ends of a spectrum, not the only options, and looks at why governments are reluctant to regulate. Good for moving past the either/or framing you see on social media.
This Week in Tech 1102: Exclave Subpoena—Leo Laporte with Owen Thomas, Jason Hiner, and Dan Patterson Video Podcast Note from Kelli: Start at about 29 minutes in. That's where the panel gets into whether we're demonizing AI and whether we should actually be afraid of it. Pairs well with Hiner's "Why AI Pacing Has Become a False Choice" above.
Episode page with links to the stories discussed—TWiT.tv
How AI Works (in 14 Minutes)—Chloe Lubinski, Anthropic | Alliance for Responsible Citizenship Video 15 min. A plain-language explanation of what's going on inside an AI model. A good starting point before the videos below.
AI Chatbots: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver—HBO Video 30 min.
The Singularity Is Not What It Seems—The Atlantic Video 18 min.
Ex-Anthropic Insider Tells CNN How AI Could Kill All Humans by 2030—CNN Video 9 min. The worst-case view of where AI is heading. Compare it with the Doctorow videos below.
The AI Apocalypse Isn't the Threat. This Is.—Cory Doctorow with Dr. Myriam François Video 26 min. Doctorow argues the real danger is what companies do with AI, not AI itself.
The Life After AI—Cory Doctorow | Brain Bar Video
Harvard Just Caught AI Lying to Every Executive in America—Brendan Dell Video 17 min.
We Are the Art—Brandon Sanderson (keynote speech) Video 19 min. A novelist on AI-generated art and why the human process of making something matters.
I Worked at a Google Data Center: What I Saw Will Shock You.—More Perfect Union Video 16 min. The physical side of AI and the cloud: what actually happens inside a data center.
Can the AI Power Problem Lead to a Cleaner Future?—Elle Cordova with Steph Speirs Video 40 min. AI's energy demands and whether they could push clean energy forward.
This Is Not a Runaway Train—Elle Cordova Video

📰 Bias, Truth & Media Literacy

How to Detect Bias in News Media—FAIR Reading Also useful as a how-to for evaluating your own sources.
The Five Key Questions and Core Concepts of Media Literacy—Center for Media Literacy Reading
Digital News Report 2026: Overview and Key Findings—Reuters Institute, University of Oxford (June 2026) Reading The biggest yearly study of how people get their news, covering 48 countries. Social media and video now beat news sites, trust in news is the lowest it has been since 2015 (25% in the U.S.), and more than half of 18- to 24-year-olds get their news mainly from social media, video, and AI chatbots.
News Influencers Fact Sheet—Pew Research Center (updated May 2026) Reading 38% of U.S. adults under 30 regularly get news from influencers, and most say they come across it by accident. Pairs well with the Reuters report.
Community-Based Fact-Checking Reduces the Spread of Misleading Posts on X—Nature Communications (May 2026) Reading A study of more than 237,000 posts. When a Community Note appeared, reposts of the misleading post dropped by about 60%. The catch is that notes usually showed up too late, long after the post had already spread. This is a scientific journal article, so start with the abstract and the discussion section.
Prebunking Misinformation Techniques in Social Media Feeds: Results from an Instagram Field Study—Harvard Kennedy School Misinformation Review (January 2026) Reading A 19-second Instagram ad taught people to recognize emotional manipulation, and the effect was still there five months later. The authors list their limits, including that Google's Jigsaw unit funded the study. Look at those as you evaluate it.
Introduction to Cognitive Bias: Crash Course Scientific Thinking #1—CrashCourse Video
Evaluating Sources & Fact Checking: Crash Course Scientific Thinking #6—CrashCourse Video 10 min. Very recent (2025).
How Consumer Propaganda Changed America—Epic Economics Video 24 min. Also cross-listed under Advertising.
Americans Exaggerate How Often They Go to Church—ReligionForBreakfast Video 13 min. Note from Kelli: This is especially interesting in terms of how data was gathered—location sharing revealed when people were actually attending church versus just saying they did. Think about what that tells us about how data collection works.
How Much Water Do You Actually Need a Day?—Gastropod Podcast Note from Kelli: This episode discusses various studies on water needs, including biased studies and the illusory truth effect—which connects to many topics in this essay.
On Cutting Boards, Microplastics, and Bacteria—Adam Ragusea Video A close look at what the studies behind a scary headline actually found. Pairs well with the Gastropod water episode above.
The Myth of the Teeny-Tiny Victorian Waist—Hannah Fry Video How a "fact" about the past spreads, and what the evidence actually shows. Also connects to beauty standards.
René Magritte: Great Art Explained—Great Art Explained Video Includes Magritte's "This is not a pipe," a classic starting point for thinking about images versus reality.
Combating U.S. Propaganda as a U.S. Citizen Who Has Migrated to Germany—Aly (@usa.mom.in.germany) Video
Real Housewives of the House of Representatives—Josh Johnson Video 15 min.

💼 Work, Identity & Social Connection

I Study the Future. We Should Pay Attention to Avatars—Sinead Bovell | TEDxRutgersCamden Video 13 min. Also cross-listed under Social Media & Identity.
Can I Be Myself at Work?—Linden Vazey | TEDxUOA Video 12 min. Authenticity, identity, and workplace culture.
The Death of 24-Hour America—Why Nothing Stays Open Late—Cities By Diana Video 13 min. Technology, work schedules, and how social spaces are disappearing.
Google, Facebook, Amazon: The Rise of the Mega-Corporations—DW Documentary Documentary 42 min. Also cross-listed under Technology & Society and Privacy & Data.
RACE – THE POWER OF AN ILLUSION: How the Racial Wealth Gap Was Created—California Newsreel Video 29 min. Systemic inequality and data—how historical policies created lasting economic divides.
Jon Stewart Smashes the Myth of Corporate Morality—The Daily Show Video 14 min. Also cross-listed under Advertising.
How the Boeing Scandal Profited Millions—Josh Johnson Video 15 min. Corporate decision-making and who pays for it.

🎬 Video Streaming—Kanopy (EPCC Login Required)

These films are free with your EPCC login. Go to kanopy.com/en/epcc and sign in with your EPCC credentials.

Sexy Baby—Social media, gender, and growing up online
Frontline: The Facebook Dilemma—Data privacy, fake news, and the social media ecosystem
Vulnerable Innocence: The Internet—Are Children in Charge?—Children, online safety, and parental oversight
What Is the Metaverse?—Virtual worlds and the next evolution of the internet
I Am Human—Brain implants, ethics, and what technology means for human identity
Generation Zapped—Wireless technology, cell phones, and health consequences
Computers v. Crime (2022)—How algorithms are used in bail decisions, sentencing, and policing
Augmented & Predicting My MS (2022)—Technology and disability
Why It Matters: Future Tech (2021)—5 episodes; any of them work
Black Code: Where Big Data Meets Big Brother (2016)—Governments, internet control, and democracy
A Good American: Behind a Government Surveillance Program (2015)—NSA mass surveillance
Pre-Crime: Investigating Predictive Crime Algorithms (2017)—Predictive policing and algorithmic justice
Origin of the Species (2012)—Android development, human/machine relations, and gender