Abstract for: Dynamic Feedback Structures in Algorithmic Curation: How Youth Interpret and Respond to Crisis Content on Weibo

Social Media Weibo's algorithmic curation creates reinforcing loops where crisis content exposure generates emotional arousal driving interactions that platforms prioritize, trap youth in escalating engagement-fatigue cycles. Delayed disengagement balancing fails to contain growth and accumulate interpretation uncertainty. This study addresses the problem by mapping sensemaking patterns through interviews, literature review and simulations, and identify curation transparency as leverage intervention. It guides platform governance, breaks vicious cycles and fosters healthier youth engagement in digital public sphere. We apply System Dynamics methodology to examine algorithmic curation dynamics on Weibo. Causal loop diagrams map feedback structures driving youth engagement; behavior-over-time charts visualize engagement-fatigue trajectories. Systematic literature synthesis identifies mechanisms, complemented by semi-structured interviews capturing youth sensemaking and emotional responses. This iterative analysis reveals intervention leverage points, generates actionable platform governance strategies to disrupt crisis content cycles and foster healthier digital public sphere participation. Weibo's core reinforcing loop self-amplifies as algorithmic profiling delivers targeted crisis content that stimulates youth engagement, generating behavioral data to refine targeting further. Trust erosion balancing emerges when users perceive manipulation, degrading engagement quality. Governance pressures trigger self-censorship through expression risk anticipation. Interviews confirm trust thresholds precipitate disengagement cascades, positioning transparency interventions as critical leverage to moderate amplification and restore healthy sensemaking is essential for youth civic learning and wellbeing. Interviews confirm R1 algorithmic amplification drives intentional crisis exposure while generating emotional fatigue variance. Platform skepticism activates B1 trust erosion, and transitions engagement toward passive consumption. Self-censorship emerges as long-term adaptation process. Critically, transparency interventions at curation visibility thresholds offer dual leverage, it may weaken R1 prioritization while strengthen B1 disengagement signals. Our findings challenge neutral platform assumptions, informing governance strategies that protect safety while preserving non-confrontational expression to sustain youth civic agency.