Astrology has been a part of the human race for thousands of years.

We have used the stars for farming, traveling, telling time, and now, predicting the future. There are hundreds of social media accounts, hashtags, and posts about zodiac signs on nearly all forms of social media, but how much of it is accurate?

Personally, I believe that both zodiac signs and astrology have importance, but social media has warped their significance with fake information that’s just trying to entertain the public. 

An astrology reading is based on your date of birth and how it coincides with the position of the stars. Zodiac signs follow the same logic; you are classified into a certain sign according to the time and date you were born. With twelve signs in total, each one has separate characteristics and individual traits that are used to create your own individual readings. 

Astrology readings usually consist of predictions of your zodiac sign’s future. These can range from when a new friend may enter your life to how compatible you are with other signs. 

The challenging part of astrology is whether to believe in it or not. Many question these readings based on the sky and star placement because they have not been scientifically proven.

I believe that there is significance to when you were born and how that could affect your life, but I don’t think the majority of these readings are true. You can’t claim someone acts a certain way or predict something in their future based solely on what the sky looked like when they were born.

I think the reason that these readings get so much attention is that they are so general that it could possibly happen to you or anyone. In a 2018 article about astrology signs, Sten Odenwald, who works for NASA, discussed with TIME magazine the history of zodiac signs and overall astrology. 

Odenwald brought up the idea that one of the reasons that people believe in the stars and the sky is due to something called self-selection. Self-selection is when you put yourself into a research group, knowing what the outcome should be, and being aware of the treatment given. Odenwald described it as “the search for interpretations that match what we already hope to be true.” 

I agree with Odenwald’s opinion. I think the reason social media astrology readings are so popular is that they tell each viewer what they want to hear. Social media posts are supposed to entertain you. Pleasing the audience is the main objective, and Odenwald just points out the reason why people believe in them.    

In general, I believe people latch onto the idea of zodiac signs being right because they want their ideal answer. If a reading said you were going to have “good luck” today, you would instantly think of anything that could mean you had good luck. 

In the end, you shouldn’t believe that you are going to have good luck on a given day based on what a zodiac reading says. You should have a good day because of your actions, decision making, and mindset.