Stoic virtue for social media
Summary: If some folks find themselves constantly feeling angry or outraged, one reason may be because they’re perpetually distracted. At least, that was an observation the Stoic philosopher Seneca made two millennia ago. His advice: Remove unnecessary distractions to cultivate a calm (as opposed to agitated) state of mind. That way, we’re more likely to act thoughtfully and virtuously, and less likely to act out of anger or outrage. This philosophy of Stoic virtue remains relevant in the Digital Age, especially when it comes to controlling negative emotional reactions on social media.
Seneca’s stoic virtue
So think that this is the outcome of wisdom, to achieve evenness in joy. The wise man’s mind is like the universe beyond the moon: there it is always fine and calm. So you have another motive to want to be wise, if the wise man is never without joy. Such joy only arises from awareness of one’s virtues.
– Seneca, Letter 59 to Lucilius (Seneca, 2010, p 92)
Stoicism is an ancient school of philosophy I’ve been a long-time fan of, because its ideas on how to live virtuously seem strikingly relevant in modern times. However, to understand what the Stoics taught, including what virtues they espoused, we better clarify what the name of their school means. Today, words like ‘Stoicism’ and ‘Stoic virtue’ may convey apathy or indifference. But these terms had entirely different meanings in ancient Greece and Rome.
In Classical antiquity, to be Stoic meant to be virtuous—namely, by self-regulating one’s own emotional reactions, especially negative ones. In other words, the Stoic philosophers didn’t try to ignore or suppress their emotions. Instead, they used a very different approach.
- The Stoics advocated using higher intelligence or reason [logos] to control reactive thoughts and avoid knee-jerk responses.
- The goal of using reason this way was to cultivate equanimity, or a calm state of mind [ataraxia].
- This state of mind is what allow one to act thoughtfully and virtuously [arete]. (In this sense, Stoic virtue more or less resembles the Buddhist ideal of mindfulness.)
Seneca, who lived during the 1st century C.E. in Rome, may be the most famous of the Stoic philosophers. Even though he lived nearly two thousand years ago, his insight about controlling negative emotional reactions has much to teach us in the Digital Age, particularly in the context of using social media.
Seneca on anger or outrage
We are not harmed by anything that offends us, but self-indulgence drives people to a frenzy, so that anything which does not answer their whim calls forth their rage.
– Seneca, Letter 47 to Lucilius (p 71)
For instance, take the phenomenon of online outrage, which has been growing on social media (Meinch, 2021; Munn, 2020).
Nowadays, nearly everyone on platforms like Facebook or Twitter has seen outbursts of anger erupt on these sites. Indeed, some social media users seem to thrive online by posting inflammatory content, just to provoke outrage (a.k.a. online trolling). Meanwhile, other users appear to thrive online by constantly pointing their fingers at content that angers them (a.k.a. online shaming).
Seneca had a lot to say about anger. (In fact, he wrote a lengthy essay on this topic called On Anger [De Ira].) In particular, he was interested in finding its underlying causes. For example, one of his observations was that we can easily get angry or outraged when our minds are perpetually distracted.
Seneca on distraction
Measure your life; it cannot contain so many distractions.
– Seneca, Letter 88 to Lucilius (p 176)
According to Seneca, getting distracted is commonly a sign that we’ve failed to focus on what truly matters in life. What’s more, when we fail to focus on what matters, our minds can become agitated and prone to getting angry or outraged, especially over things that don’t really matter. As a result, we sweat the small stuff and fall short of acting reasonably.
No doubt, Seneca’s insight can help us make sense of what happens to numerous people on social media. To illustrate, think of all the potential distractions on social media platforms—viral videos, monotonous memes, click-bait ads, etc. Repeatedly, we go online with the intention of doing one thing, but soon we find ourselves becoming sidetracked by something else. As my friend, and guest contributor to this site, Stan Ponkin observed,
how frequently do we catch ourselves checking, say, a weather app, only to find that, fifteen minutes later, we’re mindlessly scrolling through a social media feed, without actually getting to the weather app?
Unfortunately, when our minds become sidetracked by digital distractions, it’s sometimes because these distractions succeeded not only at hijacking our attention but also at arousing anger in us. After all, an easy way to manipulate attention online is to gin up outrage. Consequently, many social media users thrive online by posting—or posting about—content that’s not just distracting but also angering or outrageous.
Fortunately, says Seneca, we can avoid these negative reactions altogether. His advice: Remove unnecessary distractions to help cultivate a calm (as opposed to agitated) state of mind. That way, we’re much more likely to act thoughtfully and virtuously, and less likely to act out of anger or outrage. Which brings us back to Seneca’s idea of Stoic virtue.
Achieving stoic virtue by filtering out distractions
Whatever part of human and divine matters you grasp, you will be wearied by a vast abundance of things to be investigated and learned. In order to give free hospitality to these many and great themes, you must remove superfluous thoughts from your mind.
– Seneca, Letter 88 to Lucilius (p 175)
Hence, argues Seneca, if we want to attain Stoic virtue—or cultivate a calm state of mind to act thoughtfully and virtuously in the world—we must filter out unwanted distractions. By filtering out distractions, we give our minds greater control over what we choose to pay attention to in life. And by giving ourselves better control over what we attend to, we make it easier to conduct ourselves in a calm, thoughtful, and virtuous manner.
Applying Stoic virtue to social media
Okay, so how does Seneca’s philosophy of Stoic virtue apply to social media? That is, what would Seneca recommend when it comes to using social media platforms? Of course, we’ll never know the answer to that question, given that two millennia separate the philosopher from the technology. Still, we can imagine what Seneca would suggest if he were alive today.
I can think of a couple things he might say.
- If you feel that a social media platform is just an unwanted distraction, go ahead and delete it. (Personally, I did exactly that when I deleted Facebook years back—a decision I’ve never regretted.
- Or, if you feel that some features of a social media platform are distractions, but other features are useful, you can filter out the distracting features and choose to use only the useful features.
For example, on Facebook, you may find the News Feed to be a distraction. Nevertheless, you may find the Messenger to be a convenient way to chat with friends and family. In this case, you could try ignoring the News Feed.
Or, if you have trouble ignoring it, you could download an app like News Feed Eradicator, which replaces the News Feed with an inspiring quote. This app eliminates the most distracting feature of Facebook, while still allowing you to benefit from its other features. Plus, by eliminating distracting features like the News Feed, you’ll probably feel less agitated. As a bonus, you’ll likely see and experience less anger or outrage too!
References
Meinch, Timothy. (2021, February 12). Shame and the Rise of the Social Media Outrage Machine. Discover. www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/shame-and-the-rise-of-the-social-media-outrage-machine
Munn, Luke. (2020). Angry by design: toxic communication and technical architectures. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 7 (53). doi.org/10.1057/s41599-020-00550-7
Seneca. (2010). Selected Letters (Elaine Fantham, Trans.). Oxford: Oxford World Classics.
For further reading on Seneca and Stoic virtue
Seneca’s philosophy was thoroughly practical, coming from his life experience. He was not just a teacher, having tutored Emperor Nero (who, in a fit of outrage, eventually had Seneca killed). Seneca was also a statesman who effectively administered the Roman Empire (while Nero became distracted by seductions of excessive wealth). For details about Seneca and his philosophy of Stoic virtue, here are some books I highly recommend.
- If you’re interested in Seneca’s insights and their application to modern technology, Hamlet’s Blackberry: Building a Good Life in the Digital Age, by William Powers, is well worth reading. In addition to writing about Seneca’s insights, Powers also writes about insights from Plato, Johannes Gutenberg, William Shakespeare, Benjamin Franklin, Henry David Thoreau, and Marshall McLuhan.
- For details on Seneca’s life, check out Dying Every Day: Seneca at the Court of Nero, by James Romm. This biography is enthralling, because so many historical details surrounding Seneca’s relationship with Nero (perhaps the most infamous of Roman emperors) are stranger than fiction. Just to give you a preview of some of the insanity that Seneca had to muddle through in his dealings with Nero, the chapters in this book are titled Suicide, Regicide, Fratricide, Matricide, Maritocide, Holocaust, Suicide (again), and Euthanasia.
- If you’d like to know more about Stoicism in general, see William Irvine’s A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy, as well as Massimo Pigliucci’s How to Be a Stoic: Using Ancient Philosophy to Live a Modern Life. These are both excellent reads if you’re curious about Stoicism and are looking for a helpful overview of this philosophy.