Incorporating Evidence in Fear Appeal to Mitigate Information Cocoons

The proliferation of personalized recommendation on digital platforms raises concerns about information cocoons. This study proposes leveraging fear appeals to increase user awareness and enhance their acceptance of diverse content. Online experiments were conducted to examine the effects of fear appeal statement, fear appeal with statistical, or narrative evidence on users’ threat perceptions and acceptance of diverse content. The results indicate that although a fear appeal statement significantly increase perceived susceptibility, it does not significantly enhance users’ behavioral change. Moreover, a fear appeal without supporting evidence would engender a sense of freedom invasion, which may lead to resistance against suggestions from message sender. Including statistical or narrative evidence in a fear appeal significantly boost user acceptance of diverse content. This study enriches both information cocoons and persuasion literature, offering practical insights for mitigating information cocoons through persuasion strategy.