Affective Online Media Rituals: Toward a Theory of Algorithmically Amplified Ritual Communication

The essay develops a theoretical framework that conceptualizes affective online media rituals as repetitive, platform-mediated communication practices through which collective emotional synchronization, community formation, and social meaning-making occur. The paper employs theoretical triangulation, drawing on three complementary theoretical traditions—ritual communication theory (Carey; Dayan and Katz; Couldry), affect theory and affective publics (Papacharissi), and platformization and deep mediatization theories (Gillespie; Hepp; van Dijck)—to provide a conceptual definition of affective online media rituals and develop a theoretically informed typology of their main forms and functions. The article further argues that contemporary media rituals are different from past broadcast rituals in that they are embedded in algorithmically curated platform environments. To explain this transformation, it introduces the concept of the algorithmic feedback loop, describing how emotional expressions are continuously transformed into data, amplified by recommendation algorithms, and recirculated as increasingly visible ritual performances. This mechanism transforms the production of collective emotional experiences in platform societies. The study also argues that the mechanisms presented are platform-specific; algorithmic amplification is a non-deterministic component of the system and does not necessarily result in enduring engagement or heightened political efficacy in a universal sense. The article contributes to media and communication theory in three ways: first, by introducing the concept of affective online media rituals; second, by proposing a theoretical model of algorithmically amplified ritual communication; and third, by developing a typology that provides an analytical framework for future empirical research on digital publics, platform communication, online participation, and emotionally driven collective action.