Taking back and giving back on TikTok

Algorithmic mutual aid in the platform economy

Bibliographic Data

ID6443649
AuthorsElena Maris (0000-0002-8560-4940, University of Illinois Chicago, corresponding author), Robyn Caplan (0000-0002-6407-3116, Duke University), Hibby Thach (0000-0002-0520-0218, University of Michigan)
Year2024
Volume27
Issue7
Pages4071-4089
Publication date2024-03-25
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueNew Media & Society (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1461-4448 • E-ISSN: 1461-7315
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/14614448241238396
OpenAlexW4393157836
LanguageEN
Citations received8
References cited32

This article explores three genres of TikTok content in which creators and users collaborate to re(direct) the value they create on-platform toward specific needs, people, and causes. Drawing from literatures on platform economies, user and creator labor, algorithmic imaginaries and resistance, and mutual aid, we used algorithmic ethnography to identify and define major genres of content, eventually creating a sample of 192 TikTok videos (including comments and metadata) and conducting a thematic analysis. The videos and practices shared the following themes: realizations of on-platform value, tactics oriented against platform logics and monetization programs, shared theories of value, and digital collaboration for a cause. We argue the genres constitute forms of algorithmic mutual aid, a practice unfolding in platform economies that demonstrates people’s increased recognition of the value of their digital labor, and efforts to reorient platform logics of value, visibility, and compensation to care for one another

Computer Science · Digital Economy and Work Transformation · Sharing Economy and Platforms · Transportation and Mobility Innovations

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