there are hundreds, maybe thousands, of social media ac

[melting]

The rollout of this tech will continue for some time. Stores in a handful European countries will introduce the system in August, and Nike.com will ultimately integrate it as well, as will SNKRS and Nike Running Club, two other apps the company makes. Your favorite sneaker might not be self-lacing yet, but the company hopes that in the meantime, you'll find the perfect fit.SPEND ENOUGH TIME on the internet and you'll inevitably come across Astrology Content?. Maybe you've seen a Game of Thrones meme about Leos, or a Twitter thread arguing why we should all love Taurus season—or perhaps you just have that one friend (they know who they are) who starts off every social media post with "This is a total Gemini thing, but …" It's unavoidable.

Over the past couple of years, numerous publications have tried to explain the how and why behind astrology's online proliferation. It's no secret that people on the internet enjoy hyper-personalized content (who doesn't love a quiz that will tell them what type of bread they are?), but the fascination with astrology goes beyond that. The knowledge regular people have of astrology is no longer limited to horoscopes. Netizens now have an entire framework through which to examine the world—from using charts to analyze rumors that Prince William cheated on Kate to tying the release of the Mueller report to a full moon in Libra. Yet, as much as astrology has changed the internet, the internet has also changed astrology. The abundance of information online about celestial movements and a seemingly infinite number of people writing horoscopes has transformed the practice from a devout subculture to a subject so popular that there are hundreds, maybe thousands, of social media accounts dedicated solely to star signs.

Perhaps this is unsurprising. Despite what the creators of social media platforms once naively professed, it's clear that the internet is not just a neutral space for sharing thoughts, information, and ideas. Whether it's surveilling of activists of color or, well, any recent election around the world, the tides of the internet (and specifically social media platforms) have the power to significantly shift how people understand real-world circumstances. Astrology, even as a centuries-old belief system, is no different. And just as the internet has altered current events, it has also altered the practice of astrology, turning something that used to require decades of study into something easily Googled.