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Caitlin Begg

@caityb

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sociologist researching tech’s effect on life, love, & work
founder @authenticsocial
@hypercommunication
💌 [email protected] // NYC

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looks like tanner found his booty 🏴‍☠️💰

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Congrats @caityb 🗞️ quoted today in the The New York Times They’ve Come to Free “the iPad Babies” ☎️

Caitlin’s work and research explore technology’s effect on communication and interpersonal relationships; workplace design; and AI. She focuses on designing a sociotechnical future—seeking a joint optimization between people and technology. A main emphasis of her work in 2025-2026 is smartphones’ effect on everyday life, work, and relationships.

📣Caitlin founded of @authenticsocial Authentic Social in 2016 after writing her undergraduate sociology honors thesis on digital communication at @harvard. Authentic Social is an applied research lab at the intersection of sociology and technology.

🎙️founder, Authentic Social & sociologist
host, Progression to Analog podcast

www.caitybegg.com

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Season 4 of Progression to Analog kicks off Monday, 10 November with guest @andrewyang! @newyorkermag, 13 October 2025, “IRL Dept. - Phone-Free” @caityb

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Caitlin Begg is the founder of Authentic Social and a sociologist. Based in New York, Authentic Social is an applied research lab at the intersection of sociology and technology. Caitlin founded Authentic Social in 2016 after writing her undergraduate Harvard sociology honors thesis on digital communication. She speaks and presents research around the U.S. and Europe. Additionally, Caitlin hosts the Progression to Analog podcast, focused on exploring a more human everyday.

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the last month and a half has been filled with so much love and celebration 🤍🎉

cheers to the Grabanica’s, the Perrotti’s, the Norwood’s, and the Riedlbauer’s🥂

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What a Wedding 💒 ! Congrats 🥂 Kay & Pierce ! 😍

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“I don’t know that we’re meant to see the wedding photos of someone who has broken our heart.”

Harvard trained sociologist Caitlin Begg threw this at me and it really made me think about why we obsess over our parasocial relationships.  Comment ‘Watch’ and we’ll DM you the full conversation.

Today’s guest on Hot Smart Rich is Caitlin Begg @caityb , a Harvard-trained sociologist, founder of Authentic Social, and host of Progression to Analog. Caitlin is redefining how smartphones and social media shape our attention, communication, and intimacy.

From taking three years off TikTok, to researching parasocial relationships, to designing healthier tech habits, Caitlin is asking the questions every modern creator, founder, and human needs to hear.
This episode isn’t about quitting tech—it’s about reclaiming your attention, deepening real relationships, and designing a more human everyday life.

We cover:
• Why “phone brain” is the hidden reason behind your short attention span
• How social media rewires dopamine, intimacy, and connection
• The dark side of dating apps and parasocial relationships
• Why boredom and mornings off tech are the real productivity hacks
• How AI can free up time for deeper thinking and better communication

Caitlin’s perspective is refreshing, challenging, and exactly what we need in today’s world.

#HotSmartRich #podcast #clips #digitalwellness #selfdevelopment #attention #intimacy #AI #parasocial

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My best friend’s wedding!!! 6.21.25

One of us does public speaking professionally, the other couldn’t believe she gave a speech sober that day

🤍🩵🤍🩵

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Talking with @caityb on @progressiontoanalog about the root cause of social media’s issues: 🤑

Full episode on Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube! #progressiontoanalog

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Loved talking to @caityb on the @progressiontoanalog podcast about “superspreader” dynamics online and offline!

Check out the full episode on Spotify, YouTube, and Apple Podcasts. #psychology #psychologyresearch #progressiontoanalog

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Progression to Analog S3E1 with Professor @steverathje is live! We discuss the psychology of virality and why info spreads offline and online, the paradox of virality and why people share negative content online even though they claim to not want negative content, smartphone bans, cross-cultural social media trends, and more.

Steve Rathje, Incoming Assistant Professor of Human Computer Interaction at Carnegie Mellon University, joins us to kick off season three of Progression to Analog! You may know Steve from his TikTok (1M+ followers).

Full episode is live on @spotifypodcasts, @apple podcasts, and @YouTube.

Progression to Analog is my (@caityb) podcast about exploring a human everyday. Episodes Mondays!

#socialmedia #psychology #research #psychologyresearch #progressiontoanalog

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We 🩵 @kaybegg 💍👰🏼‍♀️

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