Can Social Media Nudge Us To Be Kinder To One Another?

Social media is home to plenty of mean, racist and destructive comments. The problem has become so bad an entire nation decided to ban Facebook. Can features that prompt users and spotlight the meanness actually make people kinder to one another? The social media platforms seem willing to give it a try.

Tik Tok released a “Reconsider” feature that flags comments and prompts users to confirm they want to post the comment. Twitter is beta testing an “Undo Send” feature as a last chance to take back an ill-advised tweet. Instagram released a feature last year to let people “Restrict” a bully's ability to post comments without blocking the bully (which studies showed might lead to retaliation). Facebook even managed to publish an old “Abuse Resources” page with kindergarten advice like “think before you post,” but even they will probably get around to doing something. Or maybe not. They are hard to predict.

Recent studies suggest that these types of nudges show limited impact when it comes to actually changing behavior. What's more likely to work is the plentiful stories of people getting fired or ostracized because of something they posted on social media years ago. The sad truth is ... fear does motivate. And if fear keeps people from being assholes, trolls, perverts and racists online today because they are afraid it might get them fired five years from now, I'd say that's a win for us all.