Opinion | There’s a New Wave of Cults Coming, We’re Not Prepared, and It’s Not From Where You Think
It’s no secret that modern society is one of extreme opposites.
Not to sound cheesy over overplayed, but the way our modern society is structured gives us more connection than any time in human history BUT also deprives us of more connection than ever before. We work longer, are paid less, have fewer friends, spend more time alone. This is not some self-righteous declaration of mankind’s ills, I’m guilty of all those. I’m sure you are too.
The point is this; these societal constraints create an ideal breeding ground for the sort of total social isolation that cults and cult-like groups recruit from very easily.
First, lets do some clarification. What is a cult, and how does it work? According to Dr. James T. Richardson, “a cult is usually defined as a small informal group lacking a definite authority structure, somewhat spontaneous in its development (although often following a charismatic leader or group of leaders), transitory, somewhat mystical and individualistically oriented, and deriving its inspiration from outside the predominant religious culture.”
(Richardson, J. T. (1993). Definitions of Cult: From Sociological-Technical to Popular-Negative. Review of Religious Research, 34(4), 348–356. https://doi.org/10.2307/3511972)
In effect, a cult is a group made up of people who are desperate for human connection and are willing to believe in anything to have it.
Society saw an increase in these sorts of parasocial cultures throughout the 1970s, primarily in the wake of the Vietnam War and the height of the Cold War. These high-profile cults would eventually die down, with some notable exceptions like the notorious Heaven’s Gate suicides.
Where am I going with this? Well, the rise of social media platforms like TikTok, populated primarily by a younger demographic, can foster ideal platforms for this manner of thinking. These younger folk, colloquially known as Gen Z, have lived through a number of utterly paradigm-destroying events. The tumultuous days in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, the War on Terror, not one but two economic crashes equal or greater to the Great Depression, the increasing threat of climate change which is creating multiple “once in a generation” weather events several times a year, and recently a multi-year pandemic exacerbated mainly by incompetence and selfishness. Worse still, it is not looking like it will improve any time soon. It isn’t hard to imagine why someone would be desperate for some form of stability in these unstable times.
Enter, the trend of “Starseeds.”
Simply put, the core idea is that if someone feels out-of-place in society then it means they are a soul from another planet born in a human body. According to some users on the platform, the hybrid soul will not recall any memories of its previous alien life until it undergoes an “awakening” of sorts. What that is, exactly, is vague and differs between interpretations. Ultimately, the Starseed concept rings alarmingly close to some other, more openly self-destructive ideologies that have sprung up in the past. The concept has taken off amid the more conspiratorially-minded on the video-sharing platform, with it making evolutions into more esoteric lines. Some have specified which alien species Starseeds come from exactly, dipping into long-debunked “ancient astronaut” or “ancient alien” theories.
It doesn’t take a sociologist to identify the ways in which this idea can be harnessed for ill intentions, be it to extract money from lonely, impressionable people or for more nefarious means. Luckily, so far, no central figurehead for the idea has arisen. However, this is very likely the metaphorical primordial fish crawling out of the sea.
The Starseed hogwash is an evolutionary first step, indicating the possibility of larger, more organized, more insidious groups that might form in the unwatched corners of social media.
How can we fix this? Learn the warning signs of a cult or cult-like groups. Practice critical thinking. Be there for someone.
I need to write an ancient astronauts piece, thinking about it now.
