Behavioural Insights Discussion Paper on Social Media User Empowerment

This discussion paper, published by Ofcom, focuses on the application of behavioural insights to empower social media users, particularly in controlling their exposure to potentially harmful content. It outlines the objectives of the research, which include improving media literacy and evaluating the effectiveness of user-empowerment tools. The paper details two online randomised controlled trials conducted in partnership with the Behavioural Insights Team. The Sign-up trial assessed how the presentation of content control options during account creation influences user choices, while the Check and Update trial examined the impact of prompts on users' engagement with content settings while browsing. Findings indicate that user decisions are significantly affected by how choices are presented, including the use of defaults and the timing of prompts. The paper concludes that initial choices at account setup are crucial, yet users tend to stick with their initial settings, suggesting a need for improved user engagement strategies.