Like many other 26-year-olds, Ellice Ellis, a podcast producer in Los Angeles, says she used to ‘shitpost’ on her Finsta account, sharing silly memes and complaints to a select group of 20 friends. Then, she was faced with a breakup and some major career stressors. “I thought, you know what, instead of sitting in this stress and grief, let me use this account to imagine better for myself,” she says. “Instead of being self-deprecating on my fake Instagram, I’m going to manifest what I want and what’s possible for my life.” From that moment, Ellis transitioned her private Instagram and Twitter (now X) accounts into a digital manifestation moodboard. With her close friends still bearing witness, she will screenshot and post emails from prospective job interviews with the caption ‘This is going to go well’ or post videos of herself stating, “I am creating new experiences to up-level my life” directly to the camera. She has unknowingly joined a slew of other young people using private social accounts exclusively for affirmations – entering the rise of the ‘manifinsta’.
Simply put, manifestation is intention-setting through focusing your thoughts on the desired outcome until it happens. It’s part of psychological thought that became popularised by books like The Secret, before taking over popular culture in 2020. Since then, there’s been a growing fascination around how algorithms, the internet, and even AI can be tools for manifestation. Over the summer, Gabi Abrão Tweeted: “Everything I have in my life, I once reblogged on Tumblr. The internet is a rapid manifestation tool. The images and essences you worship here lay on an altar that determines your future.” The now-viral Tweet ushered in comparisons between our feeds and our subconscious and a conversation around more intentional posting and even saving online (as people swear what they save on Instagram eventually comes to fruition). On TikTok, this looks like “He needs me, he needs me” repetitively overlaid over blurry videos posted from what appear to be spam accounts.
Everything I have in my life I once reblogged on tumblr. The internet is a rapid manifestation tool . The images and essences you worship here lay on an altar that determines your future
— sigh swoon (@sighswoon) July 10, 2024
Ellis says using social media as a tool for manifestation is similar to writing affirmations in a journal. “Popular culture today is wellness culture,” she says. “We’re going to be on our phones anyway, so it may as well be the best experience it could be.” Her younger sister was the inspiration behind her own manifestation account. Ellis says she will post photos of Virgil Abloh and be like, ‘This is going to be me’ and has even landed an internship with a brand after posting about wanting to work for them. Now, many of her friends also have separate private accounts for positive self-talk. “There’s a culture of self-deprecation online that I’ve started to reject,” she says. “You’re not vain; your wildest dreams can come true, and I think my Finsta account and my private Twitter have made me more confident in presenting that way to people outside of those accounts.”
There’s a culture of self-deprecation online that I’ve started to reject. You’re not vain; your wildest dreams can come true
The rise of ‘manifinsta’ accounts marks a new era of social media use where positive self-talk reigns supreme. This, says feminist anthropologist Dr Emma Quilty, who has forthcoming books on magic and technology, is part of a more significant shift in our relationship with technology and spirituality. “Once reserved for that one woo-woo friend who does a lot of yoga, lately things like sage sticks, crystals, tarot cards and other symbols of spirituality have gone mainstream,” she says. As young people continue to turn away from traditional organised religions, ideas and techniques like manifestation are ultimately getting picked up by Silicon Valley-type apps and companies. “We should be wary of these ‘platforms’ types of spiritual practices because, while users might be trying to find a more authentic connection to themselves, what the companies gain is truckloads of data to feed into their machines to produce more accurate and insidious advertising algorithms,” says Dr Quilty. “It’s like the old adage, ‘If you are not paying for the product, then you are the product’.”
While posting that your job interview will go well or that your ex-boyfriend still definitely “needs you” to ten people are harmless, the premise that everything you consume and engage with online builds your future reality is terrifying. This is especially true considering tech giants control our algorithms (and therefore our futures?). Still, for people like Joyce, who works in the music industry in Los Angeles, her multiple private manifestation accounts have become her corner of the internet to curate. Joyce uses a ‘secret’ Twitter account to Tweet as if her dreams have already happened. She’ll write, “I just got the job” or “1824 just hired me” until it happens. “To take the next step, sometimes I go into my Instagram bio and edit it to tag the place I’m interviewing at as if it’s in my bio already,” she says.
The secret to manifestation, according to Joyce, is to focus your energy (or at least social media consumption) on alignment and positivity. “Manifestation is not this magical thing; it’s just a mindset shift,” she says. “I do think there’s some power in having an algorithm tailored to how you like how you want your higher being to be aligned with.” Where people used to curate their lives for the sake of their social media accounts, some are now curating their feeds as a tool to up-level their lives. This may be bad news for shitposters and internet trolls, but the good news is that there’s always the option to log off. Your saved folders on Instagram are (probably) not intertwined with your soul for eternity, and those without an interest in manifestation can enjoy their regularly scheduled rotting content in peace – scrolling past a sea of premature promotion announcements along the way.
