TikTok community forms around sorority recruitment event videos
Ephemeral Feeds and Enduring Rituals: RushTok and the Formation of Event-Based Algorithmic Communities
Human-Computer InteractionComputers and SocietySocial and Information Networks
Summary
Every August, TikTok highlights videos about sorority recruitment at the University of Alabama, creating a temporary online community called RushTok. The authors studied who joins this community and how they interact with the content and each other. They found that many viewers see it as a community but few actually feel like members, with attention focused on certain creators and participants. Video engagement is linked to stronger feelings of belonging, but creators often avoid interviews, showing mixed boundaries despite the group’s popularity. The study discusses what this means for managing platforms like TikTok.
What this means in practice
- •For social media platform designers: Design better content recommendation features that consider temporary event-based communities and their unique engagement patterns on platforms like TikTok.
- •For online community managers: Develop strategies to support community boundaries and aftercare for rapidly forming, event-driven online communities visible on social media platforms.
Authors
Emelia Hughes, Tim Weninger
Abstract
Each August, TikTok's For You page turns the University of Alabama's sorority recruitment into RushTok. We examine RushTok as an event-based algorithmic community: a collective assembled around a bounded offline ritual and sustained by recommendation. Using a mixed-methods survey (n=71) and a reflexive account of creator outreach, we ask who participates, how, and with what stakes. Findings show an ambiguous and entertainment based throughline; many called it a community (51/71) but few claimed membership (11/71). Affiliation centered on creators rather than shared practices, with parasocial attention clustering around a small set of potential new members (PNMs) and returning figures. Higher content exposure tracked with self-identification as a community member; those members commented, followed creators, and engaged across videos. Attempts to interview creators were met with silence or refusals, reflecting community boundary-work despite viral visibility. We outline implications for platform governance, including time-bounded context, graduated visibility, and aftercare.