The Twin Telepathy Challenge Is Trending—Is It Actually a Thing?

TikTok videos show twins responding in the same way. Here's what that means.

Fact checked by Sarah Scott

When I found out I was expecting twins, I immediately began wondering what kind of bond my kids would experience. Would they come out of the womb already knowing each other? Would they communicate in their own language of baby babble? Would they ever have that logic-defying, almost psychic ability known as telepathy that some twins claim they have?

When they were born, my twins were like most newborns. They wanted to be held, fed, and changed on repeat. Socializing with one another didn’t seem to be a huge priority for either of them.

Now, at 5 years old, my kids have a pretty incredible bond. But twin telepathy? I’ve never seen anything to suggest they experience that. I have always wondered, though, if my kids will have some sort of intuitive connection as they move through life.

It appears I’m not the only twin parent who has this question. The “twin telepathy challenge" is trending on TikTok, and it’s a fun look at how twins react to commands even when they’re out of each other’s sight. Some of these videos, including one of two young sisters acting similarly, have gone viral.

The challenge goes a little something like this: Twins stand on opposite sides of a door, and a parent asks them to complete a few actions. For example: “Raise your hand,” “touch your head,” and “dance.”

The challenge is all in good fun, and there’s certainly no evidence that twins can actually read each other’s minds in the videos, at least as far as I can see. But I’ve certainly heard more compelling stories that suggest twin telepathy could be a thing. For example, that one twin senses in their bones that their sibling is in pain, or struggling emotionally, or even in grave danger.

Is it actually possible?

Is Twin Telepathy Real?

Twin telepathy is mostly like a myth, according to Nancy Segal, PhD, a psychology professor, leading expert in the psychology of twinhood, and author of nine books about twins.

Dr. Segal says many twins she’s spoken to have never experienced any sort of telepathy. For those who feel they do have a telepathic connection, it’s likely the times their “sixth sense” wasn’t accurate isn’t accounted for. Plus, stories can sway away from the reality of what happened.

“The problem I have with telepathy is that we hear about these matches after the fact, and so these stories get embellished,” says Dr. Segal.

Tammy Schamuhn, a registered psychologist and the co-founder of the Institute of Child Psychology, has also heard the anecdotal evidence of twins having a strong emotional or physical connection.

"Having a feeling of ‘something being wrong’ when their twin is in crisis, or simply being so in tune they seem to finish one another’s sentences, or finding themselves engaging in similar activities even though they are in different places,” says Schamuhn. “That being said, similar synchronous experiences are also reported in non-twin siblings and close friends.”

There's also no science to back up twin telepathy.

“Despite the abundance of anecdotal evidence, scientific research has struggled to validate the existence of twin telepathy,” adds Schamuhn. “Studies aiming to replicate these experiences under controlled conditions have yielded mixed results, with many failing to demonstrate any statistically significant evidence of telepathic communication between twins.”

One challenge in studying twin telepathy is how hard it is to truly define and measure it in the first place. “Telepathy, by its traditional definition, implies communication beyond the known senses, which poses a significant hurdle for empirical investigation,” says Schamuhn. “Without a clear framework for testing telepathic abilities, researchers face difficulties in designing experiments that can effectively capture and validate such phenomena.”

But, Dr. Segal points out, that identical twins may perform better on some telepathy challenges. That can be because identical twins are exact genetic matches, while fraternal twins, which are more common, aren’t any more genetically similar than other siblings who share the same biological parents.

“We do find these telepathy-like events happen with identical twins more than fraternal,” says Dr. Segal. “What I mean by that is they may come to the same decision independently, or they may pick the same outfits independently, or they may finish each other's sentences independently.”

Research shows identical twins tend to have similar personalities, mannerisms, expressive social behavior, and interests, even when reared apart. Research also shows identical twins share greater similarities in their decision making styles than fraternal twins.

“We know from many, many studies of twins that intelligence, personality, and information processing have partial genetic components to them,” says Dr. Segal. “Identical twins share all their genes; fraternals only half on average. So, identical twins are much more likely to respond to things in the same way, and I think that’s the best explanation.”

So, What’s Behind That Twin Bond?

While research doesn’t support the notion of twin telepathy, most twin parents will probably tell you there’s a special connection between their kids. I see it every day in my own home: My twins know each other so well. But is that due to the fact that they’ve literally known each other since before birth?

Not according to Dr. Segal. “We know from fetal movies that twins do punch each other and kick each other and sometimes hug each other [in the womb, but] there’s no recollection of that," she explains.

With that being said, many twins experience life in a different way than non-multiples. For example, my twins have almost never been apart from one another. They go to the same school, are in the same class, have many of the same friends—it’s no wonder they understand each other in such an intimate way.

That will likely change as they get older and they become more independent, Dr. Segal points out. I can’t wait to see how the bond between my own kids plays out as they evolve.

But as for twin telepathy? There’s no reason to believe they’ll ever experience that. So, while this particular TikTok trend is fun to watch, it’s certainly not evidence that twins can actually read each other’s minds. 

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