The Research Behind
"What Are You Turning On?"
The Science of How Media Affects Us

Study

The Mobile Internet Study

75% of participants who blocked mobile internet on their smartphones for two weeks reported improved well-being. 68% reported improved mental health. Nearly 60% showed improvements in sustained attention. The attention gain was equivalent to reversing about 10 years of age-related decline.

Castelo, N., Kushlev, K., Ward, A., Esterman, M., & Reiner, P. (2025). Blocking mobile internet on smartphones improves sustained attention, mental health, and subjective well-being. PNAS Nexus, 4(2).

Theory

Cultivation Theory

People who watch large quantities of television develop a worldview shaped by what they see on screen. Heavy viewers of violent content are more likely to believe the world is more hostile and dangerous than it actually is. The effect is small but consistent across decades of research, and it holds even when controlling for age, gender, education, and reading habits.

Gerbner, G., & Gross, L. (1976). Living with Television: The Violence Profile. Journal of Communication, 26(2), 172-194.

Theory

Mean World Syndrome

A specific effect of cultivation: heavy consumers of violence-related media develop increased levels of fear, anxiety, pessimism, distrust, and a heightened sense of insecurity. Viewers do not need to believe what they're watching is real. The cumulative weight of violent imagery over time shifts how they perceive the world.

Gerbner, G. (1980). The "Mainstreaming" of America: Violence Profile No. 11. Journal of Communication, 30(3), 10-29. See also: Shrum, L.J. (2017). Cultivation Theory: Effects and Underlying Processes. The International Encyclopedia of Media Effects, Wiley-Blackwell.

Study

Media Exposure and the Boston Marathon Bombings

People who consumed six or more hours of daily bombing-related media coverage showed higher acute stress than people who were physically present at the bombing. Media exposure predicted stress levels more strongly than direct exposure to the event itself.

Holman, E.A., Garfin, D.R., & Silver, R.C. (2014). Media's role in broadcasting acute stress following the Boston Marathon bombings. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 111(1), 93-98.

Theory

Narrative Transportation Theory

When people are absorbed in a story, they adopt attitudes and beliefs consistent with the narrative and engage less critically with the content. The more transported you are, the more the story reshapes how you see things.

Green, M.C., & Brock, T.C. (2000). The Role of Transportation in the Persuasiveness of Public Narratives. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79(5), 701-721.

Theory

Stories Reshape Who You Are

A comprehensive review of 24 years of subsequent research showed that narrative transportation shapes not just what you believe, but who you are. Stories reshape your self-concept, increase your ability to understand others, and can reduce your critical evaluation of the content itself.

Green, M.C., & Appel, M. (2024). Narrative Transportation: How Stories Shape How We See Ourselves and the World. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, Vol. 70, 1-82.

Research

Embodied Simulation and Cinema

When you watch someone perform an action on screen, your brain's motor system activates as if you're doing it yourself. Your body responds to on-screen events as though they are real. The mechanism is automatic and unconscious.

Gallese, V., & Guerra, M. (2012). Embodying Movies: Embodied Simulation and Film Studies. Cinema: Journal of Philosophy and the Moving Image, Vol. 3, 183-210.

BOOK

Your Brain on Movies

Commercial cinema drives the strongest brain signals of any stimulus neuroscientists have tested. Your brain evolved to understand the real world, and it largely treats what it sees on screen as if it were real. Designed, edited media produces a measurably stronger neural response than raw, unedited footage of the same reality.

Zacks, J.M. (2014). Flicker: Your Brain on Movies. Oxford University Press.

Study

Cortisol and Media Consumption

Media consumption raises cortisol under some conditions and lowers it under others. The direction depends on the content. Calm, soothing content measurably lowers cortisol. Stressful and violent content drives physiological stress up. Heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing all respond whether the threat is in the room or on screen.

Nabi, R.L., Prestin, A., & So, J. (2016). Could Watching TV Be Good for You? Health Communication, 31(11), 1345-1355.

Rieger, D., & Bente, G. (2018). Watching down cortisol levels? Studies in Communication and Media, 7(2), 233-254.

Meta-Analysis

Prosocial Media: 106 Studies, 22,000+ Participants

Across two major meta-analyses spanning nearly four decades, consuming prosocial content (stories about generosity, cooperation, and people helping each other) measurably increases prosocial behaviors. People who played prosocial video games were more than twice as likely to intervene when someone was being harassed. The effect holds across TV, film, music, and video games, for both children and adults.

Mares, M.-L., & Woodard, E.H. (2005). Positive Effects of Television on Children's Social Interactions: A Meta-Analysis. Media Psychology, 7(3), 301-322.

Coyne, S.M., et al. (2018). A Meta-Analysis of Prosocial Media on Prosocial Behavior, Aggression, and Empathic Concern. Developmental Psychology, 54(2), 331-347.

Study

Emotional Contagion

Emotional states transfer from one person to another automatically and unconsciously. The mechanism is primitive and does not require face-to-face contact. People "catch" emotions from media without knowing it is happening.

Hatfield, E., Cacioppo, J.T., & Rapson, R.L. (1993). Emotional Contagion. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 2(3), 96-100.

Study

The Facebook Experiment

Facebook manipulated the feeds of 689,003 users without their knowledge. When positive posts were reduced, users produced more negative posts. When negative posts were reduced, users posted more positively. The effect per person was small, but applied at Facebook's scale, the researchers estimated it translated to hundreds of thousands of changed emotional expressions per day.

Kramer, A.D.I., Guillory, J.E., & Hancock, J.T. (2014). Experimental evidence of massive-scale emotional contagion through social networks. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 111(24), 8788-8790.

Study

Media Prescriptions

Five minutes a day of hope-inducing video content for five days reduced perceived stress and illness symptoms compared to a control group. Only the hope group (not comedy or calming content) additionally gained approach motivation and goal attainment. Comedy felt good in the moment. Inspiration produced lasting change.

Prestin, A., & Nabi, R.L. (2020). Media prescriptions: Exploring the therapeutic effects of entertainment media. Journal of Communication, 70(2), 145-170.

Study

Inspiring Videos vs. Guided Meditation

In a study of 1,000+ adults, inspiring videos were as effective as guided meditation at reducing stress, increasing empathy, and improving relationship satisfaction. The effects lasted 10 days after the study ended. Comedy and phone scrolling produced no lasting change. The mechanism: inspiring content evokes hope, which motivates persistence and counteracts stress.

Nabi, R.L., Wang, M., Ekeler, B., Walter, N., & Myrick, J.G. (2025). Media versus meditation. Psychology of Popular Media.

Research

Self-Selected Inspiring Content

When participants chose their own inspiring content on TikTok, Reels, or YouTube Shorts for 3-5 minutes a day over five days, they experienced the same benefits: lasting hope, stress relief, and goal motivation at 10 days. Same device. Same amount of time. Completely different outcome depending on what they watched.

Nabi, R.L., & van der Wal, A. (2026). Self-administered media prescriptions. Psychology of Popular Media.