CONSPIRACY THEORIESQ&A: If You’re Seeing This, Is It Meant for You?
Thanks to algorithms, social media platforms can generate content that feels like it’s made just for you. Some TikTok users acknowledge the technology underlying personalized content online but can’t deny sometimes feeling that a higher power is involved, according to Penn State researchers.
Thanks to algorithms, social media platforms can generate content that feels like it’s made just for you. And while you may acknowledge that technology is what delivers the content, you may sometimes feel that a higher power is involved.
Conspirituality is a belief system that blends new age spiritual beliefs and conspiracy theorizing. Algorithmic conspirituality combines algorithm-driven content with mystical reasoning, drawing on conspiratorial and spiritual ideas common among young people on TikTok, according to Kelley Cotter, assistant professor, and Ankolika De, a graduate student pursuing a doctoral degree in informatics — both in the Penn State College of Information Sciences and Technology.
Penn State News spoke with Cotter and De about how and why TikTok users interpret algorithmic recommendations as a kind of divine intervention.
Q: What led you to explore the idea of algorithmic conspirituality?
Cotter: The project began via a group chat conversation among research collaborators trying to make sense of TikTok videos that used the “If you see this, it’s meant for you” framing. This led us to write a paper theorizing the emergence of this unique genre of content. From there, we wanted to know how users interpreted this kind of content, its downstream impacts and the motivations of those who create it.
Q: What does algorithmic conspirituality look like?
De: TikTok’s For You Page (FYP) and the algorithm that defines it have been discussed as being uncannily and inexplicably on target. The accuracy of the algorithm’s recommendations produces a “right time, right place” feeling, inspiring a format that tailors content to individuals in an extraordinary manner. This precision can create a sense of serendipity, making content feel uniquely relevant and leading users to perceive the algorithms driving TikTok as connected to a higher power, even as users maintain a rational understanding of algorithms.
Videos on TikTok with captions like “this message is meant for you” or “the algorithm is asking you to watch this” urge viewers to think of the algorithm as divine. These phrases and similar ones create a format we identified as manifesting algorithmic conspirituality. There is also an explicit mention that the videos lack common attributes typically used by the algorithm as data for recommendations. “This video has no hashtags, so if you’re seeing this…,” for example, strengthens the idea that something divine is independently driving the algorithm.
