Even though content on social media is changing, there is still a lot of judgement around body positivity, mental health, race etc. People take hundreds of pictures and add filters to just post one on their account. This stems from a need for validation and wanting to fit in to perfect/unrealistic expectations. They are unaware of the harm caused by following influencers that have vested interests in promoting harmful thoughts and products. These pages play on the users insecurities and reinforce negative ideologies. Trolls are quick to comment on other’s posts and drag them down as it's easy  to hide behind a screen and project their insecurities.

Shift_quo is a behavioural design exploration into making social media a safe and positive space for users. It is a plugin that is the new default on platforms like Instagram and Facebook.

The plugin works on the principle of Five whys - an iterative interrogative technique used to explore the cause-and-effect relationships underlying a particular problem. The primary goal of the technique is to determine the root cause of a problem by repeating the question "Why?". Each answer forms the basis of the next question.

When a hateful comment or message gets sent, the shift_quo ai will prompt a series of questions (whys) so the user reflects on their behaviour before causing harm to someone. It also encourages users to switch up what their feed looks like by liking, following and sharing atypical posts as well as adding positive comments on others' photos. By changing the algorithm, they get to view different perspectives on topics like beauty standards and self acceptance.

Behavioural design strategies:

Align options with consumer identities | Show benefits of specific behaviours | Encourage trying something new | Ask users to explicitly make a choice