Hot Topic | Team 13 - Mihika, Tanya, Jhanvi, Leana

Inspiration

Social media is where most of us spend our time, but endless scrolling often leaves people trapped in echo chambers, reinforcing biases and spreading misinformation. We wanted to transform that mindless behaviour into something more thoughtful and productive, without disrupting the natural flow of how people already use platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube.

What it does

Hot Topics is a discussion tab built directly under short-form videos. Instead of chaotic comment threads, users swipe into a space with three AI-generated hot topics drawn from the video. They can read, contribute, or switch into Card Mode, where comments appear one at a time and can be upvoted or downvoted with a simple swipe. Integrated polls, resource links, and smart moderation ensure conversations remain credible, safe, and engaging.

How we built it

We designed Hot Topic as a lightweight integration that works alongside existing comment sections. We used AI to generate focused prompts, prototyped a swipe-based interface in Figma, and explored moderation systems that automatically flag harmful or misleading content.

Challenges we ran into

One challenge was balancing structure with freedom, too much moderation risks limiting organic dialogue, while too little allows for unhealthy discussions. Another challenge was making the experience feel as natural as scrolling, while still encouraging users to pause and think.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We’re proud of creating a concept that blends seamlessly into existing social platforms rather than competing with them. Our user testing showed that people enjoyed the swiping mechanic and felt it made scrolling feel more purposeful.

What we learned

We learned that most people are comment surfers, they passively read comments without posting, but their opinions are still influenced by what they see. This reinforced our belief that even small design shifts, like presenting one comment at a time, can have a big impact on informing digital literacy.

What's next for Hot Topics

Next, we want to prototype Hot Topic more fully, test it with real users on platforms they already use, and refine the AI-generated prompts. Long term, our goal as consultants is to partner with social media platforms so Hot Topic can become a natural part of the scrolling experience, helping millions of users in Australia build healthier, more informed digital habits.

Built With

• figma