Can Platform Design Encourage Curiosity? Evidence from an Independent Social Media Experiment

TL;DR

This study tackles whether platform design can cultivate curiosity and prosocial discourse on social media. Using an independent, bot-augmented research platform, the authors randomized 2,282 U.S. adults to three conditions that vary curiosity priming through onboarding norms and interface affordances during 15-minute energy/climate discussions. They find that curiosity priming increases question-asking and curiosity measures while reducing toxicity, with some decline in engagement actions but no loss in enjoyment or time spent composing content; intellectual humility showed no immediate change. The work provides causal evidence that simple design adjustments can foster more open and less toxic discourse without undermining user experience, and demonstrates the value of independent platforms for controlled causal social-media research.

Abstract

Social media platforms are often criticized for fostering antisocial behavior rather than prosocial behavior. Yet, testing interventions to encourage prosocial dispositions, such as open-mindedness, has been hindered by researchers' limited ability to manipulate platform features and isolate causal effects in commercial environments. We address this challenge through a randomized controlled trial with 2,282 U.S. adults conducted on a new research platform we developed that uses AI bots to replicate live social media dynamics while enabling controlled experimentation. Participants engaged in 15-minute discussions about energy and climate topics, with treatment groups exposed to curiosity priming either through modified on-platform social norms, interface affordances, or both. Results demonstrate that curiosity priming significantly increased question-asking behavior and textual measures of curiosity in user posts, while also reducing toxicity. Although interventions decreased generic engagement behaviors like liking and commenting, they had no significant negative impact on reported app enjoyment or time spent writing posts and replies. Leveraging experimental control over platform features, our findings suggest that platform designs prioritizing curiosity can promote prosocial behaviors among users without compromising user experience.

Figures (4)

• Figure 1: Screenshots from the mobile application used by participants. Figure shows the landing page (far left), the profile creation page (middle left), the embedded survey (middle right), and the newsfeed (far right). Red box highlights the text input prompt; blue box highlights the "Like" button.
• Figure 2: Points represent Odds Ratios ($e^{\beta}$) from treatment coefficients for T1 (blue) and T2 (orange) in GLMMs. Error bars indicate 95% confidence intervals; arrows signify that the confidence interval extends beyond the plotted axis range. Contains Question Mark reports effects from logistic GLMM; Curiosity and Toxicity Scores report effects from Beta GLMMs. An Odds Ratio greater (less) than 1 represents an increase (decrease) relative to the control group.
• Figure 3: Demographic Distributions of the Participants.
• Figure 4: We prime participants with two-page instructions before they enter the newsfeed.