TikTok's Algorithmic Performativity, the Anthropocene, and Digital Extractivism in Brazil

Abstract

This research examines the environmental impacts of digital extractivism through TikTok's algorithmic performativity, analysing the energy and water infrastructure that sustains its continuous engagement mechanisms in the context of Brazil's climate crisis. The methodology combines a neomaterialist perspective, literature review, document analysis, and estimates of carbon emissions and water use. Results demonstrate that features such as autoplay and infinite scrolling intensify data processing demands, thereby amplifying natural resource consumption in the Global South. The case of the mega data center in Caucaia (CE) exemplifies the contradictions between digital expansion and inadequate environmental governance. It concludes that the extractivist model of the data economy necessitates new forms of environmental regulation that acknowledge digital materiality as a pressing political issue in the Anthropocene.