# Professor Adam Alter provides insight into why people spend more time than normal on social media during a pandemic

1 Faculty News March 27, 2020 ![](/sites/default/files/styles/246w/public/assets/images/con_041821.jpg?itok=N3bHLRNd)>

Excerpt from [CNET](https://www.cnet.com/news/coronavirus-outbreak-brings-back-people-who-ran-away-from-facebook/) -- "'For most of us, social media is a primary source of rapidly delivered news, updates from friends and a general method of connecting to the world,' said [Adam Alter](https://www.stern.nyu.edu/faculty/bio/adam-alter), an associate professor of marketing and psychology at New York University, who wrote a book about the addictive nature of technology. 'This is a unique situation,' he said of the pandemic, 'the fear of missing out on updates might be more extreme than it usually is.'"

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