There is no doubt that astrology has been widely accepted by the internet and social media throughout these past few years. Want to see if your sign is compatible with someone? Snapchat will tell you that. What vegetable are you, based on your rising sign? A TikTok video has the answer for you, along with your own specific tarot card reading that 1.2 million people also saw.
Astrology is a type of pseudoscience; there is no real science to back it up.
It is the belief that planets, and other celestial bodies, affect human lives and the world. Yet, average people, even non-astrologers, still cling to it for answers.
Media has lots of influence on us, even when we’re not aware of it. The TikTok algorithm especially pays attention. If you like one video on astrology, you are guaranteed to see more. The more we are shown something, the more we believe it, especially if it is popular. More people know their zodiac sign over their social security number. Why? Because people find it interesting!
Human beings are obsessed with purpose, and especially in times of crisis, they resort to some method of spirituality. There is a steady decline of worshipers throughout many religions, leaving more and more young people seeking out something else. I wondered why astrology might be more appealing for the younger generations in a way that religion is not. Millennials are known as the “narcissistic generation”, and they are also some of the most stressed people. Astrology focuses more on the self, like how birth charts explain what type of person you are based on the sky moment the night you were born. Astrology does not ask for you to worship the universe, but attempts at understanding it. As for the stress part, astrology helps alleviate daily anxieties because it provides control and allows you to place the blame on something else.
It feels better to believe that your ex came back because mercury was in retrograde, not because he’s lonely.
There is no problem with behaving according to your horoscope, and there is not really a problem with ghosting someone just because they’re a Pisces male. The problem lies with people who go out of their way to make fun of and patronize someone for their beliefs. Personally, there are times I wonder if it is a tad ridiculous. Yet every morning, while my vision is still blurry and my brain has not fully woken up yet, I still reach for my phone and check the Co-Star App for my daily horoscope, and what’s wrong with that?