The Mycenaean

A popular app among many teenagers–Snapchat–recently released a new update incorporating astrological signs and horoscope information. The update allows you to read your friend’s horoscope and test you and your friend’s compatibility based on your zodiac signs.

A horoscope is a forecast of a person’s future in relation to astrology and the person’s birth month. They are used as a source of entertainment and advice for many.

Some will read their horoscope out of pure interest, to see if it relates to their life or not. Others believe in it all the time; they make decisions based on what their horoscope says. People also do not believe in their horoscopes at all; they wonder how could a planet determine what happens in their life.

With this update, many teenagers are being introduced to zodiac signs and horoscopes. Being able to see what may happen in your life and how you associate with your friends is becoming interesting to many of snapchat’s users.

How have teenagers views on horoscopes changed since the release of this update?

The information given through the horoscopes seems pretty generic–it never provides anything that would make it completely realistic. Some places that implement the horoscopes could just throw in some random facts and slap a name on it. Anyone who reads it could believe it.

To put the theory to the test– will high schoolers who have read their horoscope on snapchat believe anything that has their zodiac sign associated with it?—students answered questions on their knowledge of astrology prior to seeing their Snapchat horoscope.

Two students read their Snapchat horoscopes, but they don’t know that the horoscope is actually for someone of a different zodiac sign.

The first student — Olivia Mcguire, a sophomore at Leesville Road High School — has read her horoscope in the past out of curiosity for what her fortune for the month is.

Maggie Salisbury, who is also a sophomore at Leesville, only reads her horoscope when she stumbles upon it at random for entertainment.

“I want them to be true, but I don’t know they actually are, like I don’t know the science behind it,”  Mcguire said about her experience with horoscopes. “I don’t know how they could prove someone is going to do something based on the month they’re born in.” Salisbury has never taken horoscopes seriously. “I’m never going to make any sort of plan of action based on what my horoscope says.” She believes that it’s invalid for anyone to use their horoscope as an excuse for being a bad person.

When asked about the horoscope and astrological feature of Snapchat, both students said they had put the feature to use. “It’s funny to look and see how compatible I am with my friends,” said Mcguire.

Mcguire and Salisbury then read a horoscope provided by Snapchat–one that wasn’t for their specific zodiac sign. After reading it, they just assumed it was theirs because their astrological sign was attached to it. They both found the one they read to be pretty accurate.

After being told that it was not her horoscope; Mcguire was shocked. From prior experience, Mcguire has seen a few that were absolutely wrong and did not fit her at all. It was astonishing that something she thought captured her persona so well, was not even meant for her in the first place.

However, Salisbury was not surprised that the horoscope was not hers. Although she did agree with some aspects of what it said, she thinks that they “are written so they can apply to anyone and it’s just giving you compliments.” She also believes that many platforms put arbitrary facts with a zodiac sign on top because people will believe it so easily.

They proceeded to read their actual horoscopes from Snapchat, and then compare the real and fake one. Mcguire felt that the one that was for a different zodiac sign suited her more than her authentic one. This led her to draw the conclusion that “one [horoscopes] more realistic than the next, anybody could take parts from anyone and be like ‘Oh yeah, I fit that’.”

In the end, horoscopes are not a reliable source no matter what platform you are taking them from. Though there is a

scientific background behind each statement, there is no way to prove that the assumptions made are accurate.

“Some people will definitely take [horoscopes] way more seriously than they should,” said Salisbury. “There is definitely better ways to get advice about your life.”

Even though Salisbury knows that Snapchat’s horoscopes are rational, she isn’t worried about what it says about herself and others. “Snapchat is just for fun; that’s all they really do,” she said. Mcguire feels the same way about the situation. “They added a new feature, I’m not gonna take it to heart.”

As time goes on, there will continue to be studies and more information discovered in astrology; there may end up being a more dependable way to judge zodiac signs. What Snapchat and other sources put out can not be backed up scientifically; we should not worry about what they have to say.