Some TikTok Users Are Confused About the STEM Feed Showing up In Their Accounts

Although there are plenty of people who despair at the thought that TikTok is rotting the brains of an entire generation, it can't be said that the app is taking no steps to try to educate America's youth. The social media platform has even introduced an entire feed known as the STEM feed that seems to be vaguely educational, although there are plenty of people who have no idea what it is.

If you've noticed the STEM feed pop up in your account and are feeling confused about what you're supposed to do with it, we've got you covered. Here's everything we know about the feed and why it exists.

If you've opened TikTok and clicked on the STEM feed, you might have noticed that the content in that feed tends to be a little more educational and scientific than the stuff in your normal algorithm. It turns out there's a reason for that. The STEM feed is explicitly designed to aggregate a bunch of cool content related to STEM, which stands for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, and put it all in one place.

According to TikTok's official description, "The STEM feed is an optional feed on TikTok that displays content related to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). If the STEM setting is turned on, you can find the feed at the top when you open the TikTok app."

All publicly available videos that meet TikTok's normal standards are eligible for this separate feed.

TikTok also clarified that it first goes through an internal process to select videos for the feed, and then works with a third-party partner to further assess the content and make sure it's appropriate for the feed. TikTok also works with a partner that fact checks the videos, and if a video doesn't pass both the fact check and the content assessment, it won't appear in the feed.

While you may admire the goals of TikTok's STEM feed, that also just might not be the kind of content that you come to TikTok for. Thankfully, the feed is entirely optional, which means that you can get rid of it if that's what you want to do.

What's more, getting rid of the feed doesn't mean you'll lose it forever. You can always turn it back on if you decide that you miss it.

To turn off the feed, head to your profile in the app. From there, tap the Menu button and then select "Settings and privacy." Then, tap "Content preferences" and tap "STEM feed" to turn the feed on or off.

STEM feed is just one of TikTok's efforts to prove that it can provide engaging, educational content for many of its young users. Of course, if you can turn the feed off, it's unclear how successful it might be at teaching the many people who spend hours on TikTok something new about the world.