1. Why do people misinterpret societal realities?
The misleading or partial information we get from politicians, media and social media is important – not least because we now have an information system that pushes more of what we already believe at us, through unseen algorithms. We also have all sorts of biases and heuristics in how we think that can lead us astray. Politicians, the media and social media play on these to get more clicks or views, creating a system of delusion.

2. What does the current media focus on culture wars say about society?
We’ve seen an explosion of media discussion of culture wars in the UK. There are two interpretations of why: first, that it’s a cynical top-down political and media tactic to emphasise and capitalise on division, given that conflict sells; or, it’s a reflection of real concern about the speed and nature of culture change in the UK that was revealed and reinforced by the Brexit debate. Culture wars are not fractious disagreement about the issues – they are implacable conflict between tribes who have utterly opposing views about what is right and wrong about society. The US experience is not a path we want to follow.

3. How can we bridge the gaps between different sections of society?
What’s very clear is that when people meet and interact there is much less division than the caricatures we see online, where the most extreme views are promoted. So, using more deliberative democracy approaches, such as citizen assemblies, and devolving power closer to the people affected are very important.

4. Is the split between generations overplayed?
Absolutely. There is always a generational war supposedly brewing over something if you believe the headlines, but the reality is that we have incredibly strong connections up and down the generations, given our key relationships are through families. This doesn’t mean there’s no tension between generations – that’s natural and healthy to keep society moving forward. But, on whichever issue you look – from Covid to climate change to culture wars – the generations are not nearly as far apart as it’s often made out.

5. What is the most startling commonly believed societal ‘myth’, in your opinion?
One I had to check and recheck when we did the study at Ipsos was the average guesses for how often young women have sex each month. Men think that, on average, women in their 20s are having sex 22 times a month, when the reality is five times. It’s ridiculous, but also points to some pretty grim realities about how men see young women: men didn’t guess nearly as high for other men and women also guessed much lower for other women.

6. What is the biggest public policy challenge that we face in the decade ahead?
It’s hard to look past what the long-term impact of Covid-19 will be. What’s clear is how the pandemic has ruthlessly exposed existing vulnerabilities, as those with the least resources or most fragile situations were hit hardest. We will also be feeling those effects for many years to come: this is a truly generation-shaping event, with some quite extraordinarily skewed impacts on areas such as mental health, where four in 10 young people were reporting common mental health disorder conditions.

7. How can researchers help bridge gaps between different sections of society?
I do think we have a vital role to play – firstly in measuring and understanding people well, and presenting their stories in a fair way. The research industry is part of the system that can lead to exaggerated and stereotypical portraits of people and division, and we need to resist that easy media coverage, or compelling – but simplistic – storytelling for our clients. Researchers are doing brilliant work to represent the nuance and complexity of society, and we need to keep doing that.