Can Digital Nudges Mitigate Information Cocoons on Short Video Platforms

While personalized recommendations are extensively employed to alleviate information overload, they also increase concerns about information cocoons. Since prolonged exposure to homogeneous content is closely linked to cognitive bias and extremist viewpoints, it is necessary to improve platform design to mitigate information cocoons. Previous studies focused on enhancing algorithms to address this issue, but less attention has been paid to behavior intervention. This study proposes two approaches based on digital nudges. One involves providing a video-watching report that summarizes users’ video consumption. The other entails providing a risk reminder to inform users of the severe consequences. We examine the mediating role of perceived susceptibility and severity to reveal the underlying mechanisms. This paper provides practical insights on enhancing users’ proactive acceptance of diverse content to prevent information cocoons.