"I Was Told to Come Back and Share This": Social Media-Based Near-Death Experience Disclosures as Expressions of Spiritual Beliefs

People who have had near-death experiences often use TikTok to share their stories, and videos with spiritual or religious themes attract more comments and deeper conversations about faith and meaning. Analysis of 200 randomly sampled TikTok videos tagged with #nde showed that individuals use these narratives to articulate personal meaning, with spiritual and religious themes appearing in the majority of posts. Comment sections on spiritually themed videos foster more engagement and discussion. The findings suggest that online platforms can facilitate community-level engagement with spirituality and inform the design of spaces that support shared expression in specialized communities.

Study at a glance

Abstract

People who experienced near-death events often turn to personal expression as a way of processing trauma and articulating beliefs. While scholars have examined how individuals share near-death experiences (NDEs), limited research has explored how these narratives are communicated collaboratively on today's social media platforms. We analyzed 200 randomly sampled TikTok videos tagged with #nde and related hashtags. Content analysis revealed that individuals often use NDE narratives to articulate personal meaning, with spiritual and religious themes appearing in the majority of posts and serving as a means of exploring and making sense of personal spiritual perspectives. Consistent with this, analyses of comment sections reveal that videos containing spiritual themes tend to attract more engagement and foster deeper conversations around faith and meaning. Our findings offer insights into how online platforms facilitate community-level engagement with spirituality, and suggest implications for design of spaces that support shared expression and connection in specialized communities.