Imagine them as other animals. With another sense.
They can see us, follow us, "feed" of us. But I don't believe we are completely controlled.
We have "free will", but a destiny. It will happen either way, and our hearts will be tested to that destiny and how we react to it.
We can shake those demons off–not always as easy as it sounds, of course. And there's always the people who happen to resonate the anxious/scared etc. energy they feed on.
So, naturally, any entities that find you in the wild, they're gonna sink their tethers in. Tendrils perhaps a better word.
This is why we must try and always be better. Do the right thing. Especially when it's the hardest thing to do.
Change that resonance. People will flock to that light.
You just need to be strong enough to carry it. Might be failing a little bit at that recently, myself…
(Just something to consider)