This panel explores several examples of how esoteric religious discourses proliferate on and shape our understanding of new technologies and media. Nicholas Collins argues that Marshall MacLuhan’s highly influential ideas about how media reconfigure human perception were shaped by the author’s esoteric interests and personal religious experiences. Bethan Oake suggests that we are currently in the midst of a ‘Satanism Scare,’ fueled by conspiracy theories and misinformation across social media. his paper explores the resurgence of Satanic cult conspiracy discourses across social media - specifically Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok – and analyses the ways in which its contemporary narratives repackage biblical demonologies for contemporary online audiences. Finally, Stanislav Panin explores the representation of esotericism in the Russian segment of the Internet during the early period of its development from 1994 to 2004.
Among pop-cultural figures prominent in the 1960s, none were more influential on the understanding of the cultural impact of new media technologies as Marshall McLuhan. Part English professor, part media “guru,” McLuhan exerted a profound influence on the counterculture, meeting with such figures as Timothy Leary, Allen Ginsberg, and Tom Wolfe, and drawing inspiration from authors like Blake, Coleridge, and James Joyce in developing his theories. The esoteric dimensions of McLuhan’s thought, though largely unrecognized, constitute the ground for his work, and were inspired by his own mystical experiences. His ideas about how media reconfigure human perception and culture – positively and negatively - and the mystical potential inherent in electronic media to retrieve a spiritualized form of identity and integral mode of awareness underscore this dimension. While his pop-cultural status has waned, McLuhan’s insights still pertain to the media we use today, which have effectively become popular culture.
This paper argues that we are currently in the midst of a ‘Satanism Scare’, fuelled by conspiracy theories and misinformation across social media. These conspiracy theories allege that secret, Satanic cults are ritualistically abusing and sacrificing children, with theorists presenting themselves as moral crusaders against this Satanic threat. Despite an overwhelming lack of evidence for these claims, Satanic cult allegations have and continue to be weaponised as a means to stigmatise various communities, in a manner that can be likened to a modern-day witch-hunt. This new wave of Satanic Panic is pervasive, dangerous, and shows no signs of diminishing any time soon, yet little attention has currently been given to its online presence. This paper explores the resurgence of Satanic cult conspiracy discourses across social media - specifically Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok – and analyses the ways in which its contemporary narratives repackage biblical demonologies for contemporary online audiences.
The paper explores the representation of esotericism in the Russian segment of the Internet during the early period of its development from 1994 to 2004. At the time, a combination of factors created auspicious conditions for amalgamation of the Internet culture and esotericism in Russia. For the seekers of esoteric knowledge, the Internet became a treasure trove of esoteric lore and an important way to keep in touch with like-minded individuals motivating them to adopt new technologies. In many cases, the combination of interest to technology and esotericism lead to new computer-related metaphors and practices within the esoteric milieu resulting in the emergence of a new distinct flavor of Russian esotericism.