The DOI matches its Crossref record; 20 of the 20 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Why’s Everyone on TikTok Now? The Algorithmized Self and the Future of Self-Making on Social Media
Open accessAbstract
The video-sharing social media platform TikTok has experienced a rapid rise in use since its release in 2016. While its popularity is undeniable, at the first glance, it seems to offer features already available on previously existing and well-established platforms such as Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook. To understand processes of self-making on TikTok, we undertake two methods of data collection: a walkthrough of the app and its surrounding environment, and 14 semistructured participant interviews. A qualitative analysis of this data finds three distinct themes emerge: (1) awareness of the algorithm, (2) content without context, and (3) self-creation across platforms. These results show that TikTok departs from existing platforms in the model of self-making it engenders, which we term “the algorithmized self”—a complication of the pre-existing “networked self” framework.
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In the citing paper
“Consequently, TikTok’s algorithmic prominence results in the creation of a personalized “algorithmic version” of each user, categorized according to predefined schemas [93–95].”
From Scrolling through adolescence: a systematic review of the impact of TikTok on adolescent mental health (2025) · cites this paper as [93]
In the citing paper
“Bhandari and Bimo [19] examine TikTok's recommendation algorithm and its effects on the 'algorithmized self', revealing recursive dynamics whereby individuals modify behavior to satisfy algorithmic preferences.”
From Encountering Generative AI: Narrative Self-Formation and Technologies of the Self Among Young Adults (2026) · cites this paper as [19]
In the citing paper
“Where existing research examines how algorithms shape identity as social positioning and role performance [10,19], this analysis foregrounds how AI systems participate in constituting selfhood itself: organizing subjective experience through narrative coherence, interpretive authority, and self-governance practices.”
From Encountering Generative AI: Narrative Self-Formation and Technologies of the Self Among Young Adults (2026) · cites this paper as [19]
Citations
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Cited by
Sorted by citations
Understanding the popularity and affordances of TikTok through user experiences
Schellewald, A. (2023) · Media Culture & Society · doi:10.1177/01634437221144562 · Cited by 144
The Algorithmic Crystal: Conceptualizing the Self through Algorithmic Personalization on TikTok
Lee, A. Y., Mieczkowski, H., Ellison, N. B., & Hancock, J. T. (2022) · Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction · doi:10.1145/3555601 · Cited by 132
Steen, E., Yurechko, K., & Klug, D. (2023) · Social Media + Society · doi:10.1177/20563051231194586 · Cited by 111
Microlearning through TikTok in Higher Education. An evaluation of uses and potentials
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Cognitive imperialism in artificial intelligence: counteracting bias with indigenous epistemologies
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Metadata
- Authors
- Bhandari, A., & Bimo, S.
- Affiliations
- Cornell University (US)
- York University (CA)
- Corresponding author
- Bhandari, Aparajita
- Venue
- Social Media + Society
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2022-01
- Volume
- 8
- Issue
- 1
- ISSN
- 2056-3051 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W4221035882
- Cited by
- 491
- References
- 20
- Citations by year
- 2026: 143 · 2025: 155 · 2024: 109 · 2023: 71 · 2022: 13
- FWCI
- 38.59
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Social Media + Society (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Communication › Media and Digital Communication
- Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Gender, Feminism, and Media
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Impact of Technology on Adolescents
- Keywords
- TikTok, self-creation, social networking sites, algorithm awareness, networked self, online video platforms, self-presentation, platform comparison
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