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

TL;DR

This study demonstrates that platform design interventions can effectively foster curiosity and prosocial behavior on social media, reducing toxicity without harming user engagement or enjoyment.

Contribution

The paper introduces a novel experimental platform enabling causal testing of curiosity-promoting features in social media environments.

Findings

Curiosity priming increased question-asking and curiosity in posts.

Curiosity interventions reduced toxicity in user interactions.

Engagement like liking and commenting decreased but user enjoyment remained unaffected.

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.