Why Are Millennials So Into Astrology?

I’m extremely wary of the cult of contemporary self-making, and the fact that it’s become an expected part of life in the attention economy for middle-class workers.

From the college essay – the first time many of us are required to tell a selling story of ourselves in the service of social capital – to the dating website to Twitter or Instagram, we... See more

In uncertain times, people go looking for answers in unusual places. And in 2019, many U.S. consumers found their answers in the stars — or, more specifically, in a group of increasingly popular astrology apps offering horoscopes, fortunes, palm-reading and mobile access to psychics, among other things.

Nihilism, the belief that life is meaningless, is not something we typically associate with millennials who have grown up in the age of the side hustle, the “be the change you want to see” #inspo and sometimes toxic #girlboss culture. But for Syfret, the idea that life could have no point gave her the perspective she needed to become happy, and as ... See more

At best, astrology gives people a sense of control in a chaotic world and helps them relate to others by ascribing personality traits and life’s seeming randomness to star signs and the movements of planets. Users may also learn about themselves in the process, as they’re forced to pause and examine their own behavior and feelings.