OcculTea - Algorithmic Social Media and Internet Witchcraft

This is the #OcculTea tag started by Ella Harrison, Joanna the Polish folk witch, and Leah the redheaded witch. I'm not terribly online and don't inhabit a lot of the Internet spaces that this tag is largely focused on, so I come at it from a bit of a different perspective. I think a lot of the problems in internet witchcraft spaces aren't the result of individual bad actors so much as the profit incentives driving the social media platforms that host those spaces--and the way that social media algorithms are engineered to maximize engagement.
Ella's channel: / @ellaharrison
Joanna's channel: / @polishfolkwitch
Leah's channel: / @theredheadedwitch
Thorn Mooney's video: • OcculTea: The Truth Ab...
Check out Dr. Justin Sledge's ESOTERICA if you don't already know it:
/ @theesotericachannel
Buy QUEEN OF ALL WITCHERIES:
bookshop.org/p...
Check out my Tarot blog:
jackofwandstar...

[@linwong1494]

Well damn. While I had some notion of how the algorithm fucks with our perception of reality and space, I didn’t realize the sheer weight of it till you brought it up. Like yeah, it is kind of messed up how our whole sense of reality is determined heavily by non-human algorithms with the whole purpose of making money. Thank you!

[@LoveBittenVamp]

Totally agree with your perspective on this! The way social media is and the algorithms can really skew things. I also agree, social media is toxic haha. I've spent a LOT of time on it and the biggest takeaway I've gotten from it, aside from anxiety... is lost time. On another note, in regards to people idolizing content creators and looking to them as mentors or authorities on certain topics, I'm guilty of doing that myself. There's a lot of information out there and it's confusing for anyone who's newer to, not just witchcraft, but anything. Seeing someone with x years of experience, or a high number of followers - I felt more inclined to take what they said almost as gospel. Almost afraid to believe anything else because the amount of information is so so overwhelming and I just wanted to feel like I was on the right track. These days, I'm exploring very slowly. Trying not to overwhelm myself and I'm enjoying the journey a lot more. It might be another 10 years before I consider myself a witch, but that's okay! Edit: Also I have never heard the term Gardenarian or Alexandrian Wiccan before, like Thorn Mooney also mentioned in her video. I've been dipping my toes into the witchcraft community for the past 5 years and not once have I come across these! I know witchcraft and wicca aren't one in the same, but I just found that interesting. Gonna do some reading tonight!

[@s.e.a6630]

Loved your video and your take. And it was great to hear such a lucid explanation of why social media is toxic. I know it's toxic, but this really made me focus again on it's warping influence on me and society, and how I should be really mindful of that when I use it.

[@nikokatos]

I agree about the impact of social media and the consequences to attention spans of the individual. I find that the more apps I delete the more attention I can give and be present in life with others.

[@sacredbloomalchemy]

Thanks for your take on social media and it is very negative at times. Highly curated content can really make people feel like they're not good enough and I've been there. I tend to go to books, podcasts and KZbin more than Instagram when I want to learn about my personal interests which are quite broad and span spirituality and mysticism through to goddesses and witchcraft. I find reading books to be the best source but also some KZbinrs are great.

[@whangbar]

Just discovered this channel thanks to the tag. So there's that--a good thing.

[@whangbar]

Also: "Let the kids have their space. Go frolic." I'm here for these sentences.

[@Julianna78]

Great video, you were way more articulate than I was when I responded- I think any human should be aware of the curated echo chambers that social media is.

[@carolallison9685]

I grew up on the witchy side of things, so I've been doing this almost 40 years, and honestly, i think it's just a fad that we shouldn't be worried about. We've seen witchcraft have waves of popularity where you get a flood of teenage girls who all flock to it at the same time. The only difference is now we have social media instead of aol. It's a phase, it will go away. Some will stick with it, but most will just move on, and you'll see the influencers kind of dissappear once the money dries up. What we should be worried about is if our teenage girls are talking to a 42 year old in his moms basement pretending to be 16. That seems more dangerous to me than if our teenage daughters are using the wrong colored candles or are being pressured to buy more salt.

[@quixoticJournal]

You nailed it!

[@michaelgeisenheimer7562]

Thank you so much for this video you're awesome

[@NYCHFAN]

This was excellent!

[@AmethystAscension]

This was wonderful Jack. I found you through this tag and I think you hit the nail on the head! Thank you for sharing your perspective with us. ❤

[@IndigoC333]

It’s great to see so many videos on this tag ❤. I do enjoy the odd staged video - it really is no different to flipping through an interior decor magazine or watching a movie with great set design. I tend to ‘steal’ whatever ideas I can and make it work with my budget. What was more of a challenge when starting out, were the very defined ideas some ‘experts’ had on how to approach things. That can create so many blocks to a beginner. And I agree, Esoterica is a fantastic channel with such interesting, scholarly content - I highly recommend it and long may it continue!

[@WolfsbaneWitch]

Hello again, nice to see you've joined in on this tag too. I really appreciate what you had to say in regards to the algorithm and reactionary internet echo chambers.

[@LennanSmith]

Thank you for putting your voice to the tag. ❤ Your points, as always, were thought provoking. 👌🙏

[@MissCoolalasMysticalMusings]

I found you through this tag and I'm so happy ❤❤❤ You delivered maybe some hard to hear truths very eloquently. 😊💯🙏

[@thomasvanhoey]

29:30 So, if we're now returning to taking staged pictures of magic, does that mean that we're also returning to a conflation of stage magician and magic(k)ian? 🙃

[@EmilysTarotandMagick]

Thank you for sharing your perspective Jack. 🙏

[@RockandRollMystic]

Really enjoyed your video and hearing your take. Thanks! ✨

[@medeastop]

Thanks for commenting on the theme.

[@jasmyneambrosia]

Love this ❤❤❤