Public Dialogue “Between Like and Emptiness”

Illustration by Peter Kolpa (2025)

May 27, 2025, Inner City University Library

What is the role of smartphones and social media in the increasingly common mental health problems among young people in the Netherlands? And where is the balance between tools that make it easier to connect with others, and systems designed to continuously capture our attention? These questions were explored during the public dialogue “Between Like and Emptiness.”

Four speakers, three subject-matter experts and one experiential expert, shared their inspiring perspectives:

  • Prof. dr. Stefan van der Stigchel is Professor of Cognitive Psychology at Utrecht University and head of the AttentionLab research group. He studies how our attention and visual awareness shape our perception of the world.
  • Prof. dr. Annette Markham is Professor of Media Literacies and Public Engagement at Utrecht University. She is a digital ethnographer who studies how we, as humans, relate to an increasingly digitalized and data-driven world.
  • Samui Winterwerp is a clinical psychologist (GZ-psychologist) and conducts research on problematic social media use and gaming.

Through the Story Bank Psychology, there was also a special contribution from someone who has personally experienced the emptiness that online popularity can bring. Together, we discussed the paradox of social media and smartphones. These are not merely tools: they are designed to capture and hold our attention, involving biochemical processes similar to those seen in addiction.

Research shows that people who spend a lot of time on their phones or on social media more often feel down, stressed, or anxious. They also tend to sleep worse and are less satisfied with themselves. Young people who scroll for hours a day, on average, have lower self-confidence and feel less happy than those who limit their phone use. Some studies even suggest a doubling of the risk of mental health problems with excessive use.

Yet it is not entirely negative. When people use social media to genuinely connect, it can help reduce loneliness. The key difference lies in how and why we use it: do we use it to truly connect with others, or to fill a sense of emptiness?