(est. 2021) explores the intersections of technology, culture, and human experience. From urban phenomena and digital spirituality to the evolving landscapes of creativity, we investigate how modern life reshapes perception, identity, and society.
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#21 — VIOL: the ‘anti-violence’ drug that is spreading through Lisbon by Mark Ellison
#20 — Signal Ghosts: The Cities Where Wi-Fi Never Dies
#19 — Digital Detox Retreats: Escaping the Algorithm by Cassandra Myrren
#18 — The Urban Sleep Crisis by Eleanor Voss
#17 — Cryptic Art: NFTs and the Revaluation of Creativity by Marcus Ellwood
#16 — Virtual Pilgrimages: Religious Experience Online by Mark Ellison
#15 — The Dark Side of Wellness: When Self-Optimization Becomes Obsession by Eleanor Voss
#14 — AI Companions and the Loneliness Epidemic by Isolde Maren
#13 — The Rise of Microdosing in Corporate Culture by Cassandra Myrren
#12 — Sonic Immunity: Healing Through Frequencies by Cassandra Myrren
#11 — The Ethics of Immortality by Adrien Veyra
#10 — Algorithmic Faith: When Machines Preach by Mark Ellison
#09 — Post-Human Erotics: Desire Beyond the Flesh by Elin Vårnes
#08 — Synthetic Memory: The Future of Personal Archives by Caio Navarro
#07 — Neurosprawl: Mapping the Brain as a City by Eleanor Voss
#06 — The Archive Will Outlive You by Liang Wei
#05 — Eternal Scroll: The Infinite Feed as a Prison by Isolde Maren
#04 — Terraforming the Mind by Alessio Romano
#03 — Digital Necromancy by Mark Ellison
#02 — Speculative Hunger: Future Diets in a Synthetic World by Cassandra Myrren
#01 — The Ecology of Glitches by Alessio Romano
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As digital infrastructures expand, the very notion of pilgrimage is being reimagined. No longer constrained by geography, time, or corporeal limitations, religious journeys are increasingly conducted through virtual landscapes. From immersive VR simulations of Mecca to interactive 3D reconstructions of the Camino de Santiago, participants traverse sacred spaces through avatars, gamified rituals, and algorithmically guided narratives. These experiences challenge classical assumptions about embodiment, devotion, and spiritual authenticity.
Recent months have witnessed a surge in platforms offering guided digital pilgrimages. For example, SacredVR enables participants to navigate the Ghats of Varanasi while receiving real-time meditative cues, and Digital Hajj allows users to complete ritual stages in virtual synchrony with millions worldwide. Participants often report profound moments of reflection, awe, and even a sense of transcendence—but the medium complicates traditional interpretations of authenticity. The digital pilgrim inhabits a space both infinitely reproducible and intensely curated, where audiovisual design, narrative pacing, and algorithmic interaction shape perception and emotion.
Drawing on Bolter and Grusin’s (1999) theory of remediation, one observes that these digital experiences do not simply replicate the physical world but refashion it, layering virtual representations atop embodied rituals. Here, belief is mediated not by dogma alone but through interface design, narrative sequencing, and community engagement. The ritual becomes performative in new ways: an avatar’s journey can evoke collective empathy and introspection, blurring the lines between spectator and participant.
Virtual pilgrimages are also socially transformative. Online communities coalesce around shared experiences, participating in forums, comment threads, and live sessions. Michael Heim’s (1998) analyses of cyberspace suggest that these interactions constitute “virtual communities of practice,” where meaning is negotiated collaboratively, and spiritual significance emerges through relational dynamics rather than solely through doctrinal instruction. Participation is both individual and collective, highlighting the hybrid ontology of the digital pilgrim: one navigates simultaneously as embodied self and avatar, negotiating faith and identity across dual planes of existence.
Commercialization introduces further complexity. Subscription models, sponsored virtual tours, and premium content embed capitalist dynamics into sacred practices. Drawing from Jonathan Crary (2013), we can see attention itself as a commodity: algorithmically amplified experiences privilege certain rituals, narratives, and visual representations, shaping which spiritual journeys are visible and valued. This raises pressing questions about equity, accessibility, and authenticity: is the value of a pilgrimage determined by private introspection, communal recognition, or algorithmic validation?
Global crises have accelerated these trends. Pandemic restrictions, climate-induced travel limitations, and urban congestion have made virtual pilgrimages not only attractive but necessary. Yet, as these experiences proliferate, philosophical tensions emerge. Can algorithms approximate the ineffable—the liminality, the corporeal challenges, the disorientation intrinsic to sacred journeys—or do they merely simulate transcendence, offering comfort while attenuating risk and effort? Here, virtual pilgrimages function as both empowerment and mediation, shaping belief as much as reflecting it.
Crucially, virtual pilgrimages challenge conventional notions of temporality and sacred space. In classical pilgrimage, meaning is derived from the journey’s progression, physical exertion, and environmental encounters. Digital alternatives condense time, enable repeated traversal, and offer curated sensory inputs. Drawing on Casey’s (2009) philosophy of place, one can argue that virtual sacred sites reconfigure the spatiotemporal architecture of devotion: they become “place-like” rather than literal, emphasizing perception, memory, and communal narrative over physical presence.
Ultimately, these online journeys exemplify the evolving interplay between technology, spirituality, and human aspiration. They compel reflection on what constitutes authenticity, the ethical implications of mediated devotion, and the possibilities for new forms of transcendence in the digital era. Whether as adaptive responses to mobility constraints, experimental spiritual practices, or performative social rituals, virtual pilgrimages reveal a profound truth: faith, like identity, is increasingly entangled with the digital infrastructures through which we navigate the world.
References
- Bolter, J. D., & Grusin, R. (1999). Remediation: Understanding New Media. Cambridge: MIT Press.
- Heim, M. (1998). Virtual Realism. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Crary, J. (2013). 24/7: Late Capitalism and the Ends of Sleep. London: Verso.
- Casey, E. (2009). Getting Back into Place: Toward a Renewed Understanding of the Place-World. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
- Turkle, S. (2011). Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other. New York: Basic Books.