Signals Without Roots: How Platforms Rewrite Meaning
Why TikTok’s “algorithmic spirituality” isn’t just a quirk of creators. What it teaches us about context, meaning, and the way we read data online.
IMG Credit: Wallpapers.com
New research shows that many TikTok creators see the algorithm not just as math, but almost as a mystical force. That belief changes how they create, what they share, and even how their communities form.
When we treat algorithmic systems this way, we also risk pulling data out of its original context, turning numbers or trends into signs, symbols, or juicy images instead of grounded information.
This isn’t just about TikTok. It’s how dashboards, metrics, and “viral moments” often drift from their roots. We get caught up in “how this resonated with me” and stop asking: Where did this come from? What assumptions are baked in?
The result? We build strategies and communities on top of detached signals. That has real costs—for creators, for decision-making, and for how we understand the world.
👉 The study is worth reading if you care about the hidden emotional labor behind algorithms, and why context is the first casualty of “the feed.”
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