The X-stasy of Screwtape's Feast

Essay: An enlightened perspective on the banality of social media

Dear Wormwood,  

I encourage you to plant the idea in your charge’s mind that he should “build an audience” on social media.  This seemingly innocuous undertaking encourages several desires in him that our unholy father below relishes, while also directing his thoughts further away from the enemy.  Seeking such attention on a large scale encourages pride, status seeking, and anger.  

Oh! Most especially anger!  The anger in him can be fostered even if he doesn’t post his thoughts.  Simply coaxing your charge to scroll social media will accomplish much in the direction of anger!  And anxiety!  Such delicious fruits!

But, if you are able, Wormwood, I beseech you - plant in his mind that he needs to become a person of some “importance” on social media.  Get him fixated on silly games such as his follower count.  Engagement. The Algorithm.  These pursuits all encourage thoughts and feelings helpful to our father's unholy agenda and will serve you well in leading him to us, where, in the end, we will  finally devour the sweet meat of his ego-defiled soul.

Fondly, 

Your Uncle Screwtape

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Over the holidays, I enjoyed a true respite from work, and during that time I did not scroll or post on X (formerly Twitter), and the insight that struck me upon returning was realizing, quite suddenly,  the sheer banality and emptiness of the whole social media game.  

Sure, this particular thought is nothing new, and many people, smarter than me, have written about it in depth. But, for the first time, deep in my bones, the sheer meaninglessness of social media stood, exposed, under a spotlight of clarity, in stark contrast to the meaning-filled days of freedom and leisure I had just spent with my wife. 

Those had been days spent reading classic long-form fiction, watching sunsets over the ocean, hiking in the rainforest, hanging out on the beach, having a good meal while listening to music, working out, playing with the cats (once back), enjoying glasses (and bottles) of fine wine, staring at the wonder of existence during afternoon walks - in other words - days that had been spent simply living life.

The first time I logged into X upon returning, I immediately closed it again, uninterested.  The meaninglessness of it contrasted so starkly with the deep meaning of the previous few weeks, that it became glaringly obvious that social media is an empty game, a facsimile of sorts, and considering it from this enlightened perspective had unmasked the sad desperation of millions of people vying for attention.  

Social media feeds one’s ego, and the ego, from the moment it comes into existence in children, is first and foremost, desperate for attention.

As infants, our very ability to survive, to not die, depended upon our ability to get the attention of those around us.  So this ego had a very natural and normal function of helping us survive and learn to navigate society.  But it also leaves us with a deeply ingrained habit of seeking attention that is tied to avoiding our top fear, death. 

As adults, however, we can (and should) leave behind feeding the milk of attention to the ego and move on to feeding our true selves the real meat and marrow of life in the form of living honestly from our true inner nature.

In this light, the falseness of the whole social media scene became nauseatingly apparent.  

Even the recommendations people make to newbies about how to get noticed and increase engagement (as if “engagement” represents something of intrinsic value) reflect and glorify this sickening falseness: "post every day!", "be sure to reply to big accounts!”, “make sure to like and engage with those who comment on your posts!”

When I see people doing  this to feed the algorithm, I can’t help but think of a pack of desperate dogs surrounding their master as he throws them treats.  

Now, I don’t mean to sound superior, I’ve often found myself drooling in the midst of that rabid pack, begging for the titillating treat to be thrown my way.  It rarely lands in my mouth though, and, even when it does, it only feeds my craving further.  Mr. Pavlov has nothing on Mr. Musk, Mr. Zuckerberg, or the Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party (should one happen to be a Tik-Toker)1.

I hasten to add, that, I do understand that social media can be a tool for business, and, in fact, that's mostly what I've used it for, so, in a larger sense, perhaps I’ve been a tiny bit unkind in my scapegoating social media, and maybe my growing aversion to X-Twitter (and, by extension all social media, though I'm rarely active elsewhere) is an extension of my growing disinterest in the more traditional topics of business. 

Business is necessary, and it teaches one much.  And, after all, we have to make a living in this world, but at some point, once our basic needs are met, our soul aches to fill that empty space inside with something more nourishing.

We can, for a while, delude ourselves that the game of social media, or business, or even everyday life, fills that space - I recall thinking that I would want to do what I did for a living “forever.”  

But now, from a more mature perspective, though I still enjoy what I do, I'm more interested in growing myself and the business, not so much in the direction of doing more, but in exploring the direction of being more.

I believe this may be what Maslow’s idea of "self-actualization" is about.  On his famous pyramid, our families and friends fulfill the "Love and belonging" part of the pyramid.  Then, if we pursue business, or some craft we love, we fulfill the "self esteem" part of the pyramid.  But deep down, even self-esteem isn't enough for most of us.  

We, in our western rational paradigm, have been pretending that “self-esteem” is enough, but if we pay close attention to our heart and our intuition, we will start to notice that nearly everyone has a subtle sense of missing… something.  Most of us possess an underlying quiet desperation.  A sense of wondering why we exist and what we are supposed to be. 

At this point of realization, we must address our soul. This is the point when we can no longer pretend that the deep dark void doesn't exist…unless we keep ourselves extraordinarily busy and distracted.  

Of course, “busy and distracted” describes exactly what most people do!

People ask us, “How are you?”

And we actually reply, proudly, “busy!” 

The wise man is never busy and the busy man is never wise.  - Lin Yutang

And, after proclaiming our overwhelming level of busyness, we waste time distracting ourselves with social media!  

Busy and distracted.

In our society, a society whose people seek constant distraction because they are afraid to face the void inside their souls, because they are afraid of death, the invention of social media was destined to make its creators rich.  And it certainly did, on the backs of millions of attention-seeking egos.  

Social media sells it, and you play the role. Mr. Osbourne didn’t realize how much worse the crazy train ride would become.

But, if we step back, and step away, as I did on holiday, and let our mental chatter quiet down, and if we give our overstimulated mind some time to calm, and let the surface of the pond settle until it is crystal clear and smooth, we then start to see clearly, and the seeker within us has room to make his quiet voice heard.

A calm mind realizes that the rewards of the world, such as riches, power, status, and beauty can not truly fill that hole inside.  

So what can?  We ask.

And, thus begins the quest for self-actualization.  

This is an interesting phrase:  self "actualization."   

What does it mean?  Are we not already "actual?"  

Well, that's an interesting thought, and if one digs into the wisdom of the ages (or sits quietly often enough) the answer seems to be that, no, most of us are not "actual" in the sense that we construct and live an elaborate fiction and never discover who we truly are deep down.  And least not once we leave childhood.

Most of us are not "self-aware" and are trapped in the cravings and aversions of this mind and body we inhabit.  

But, when we are quiet, we notice that there is a divine awareness, a divine spark inside of all of this constructed fiction.  And, furthermore, if we kindle that spark, and carefully nurture it, the sages say that eventually, we will realize that this divine aspect of awareness is our actual "self!”  And it is  everything else that is the fiction.  

It turns out, our ego is actually our alter-ego!  

Once we realize this deeply, we move from the false periphery, to the actual center of our Self, and we become self-actualized.  Deep in our center we discover that our true self is there, patiently waiting for us to give it control to lead us to freedom and joy.

The hole inside us exists because a small part of us knows we are living a fiction and craves the real thing and until you fill your “self” with your SELF, that hole will continue to exist.   

Of course, this is my intellectual belief at this time, but knowing something intellectually is not the same as knowing something deep in the marrow of your being, for once you know it ineffably in all of your cells to be true, then you awaken fully.

We all get glimpses of this potential, however - as I did in my month off X-Twitter - watching the sun set, hiking in nature.  

Some may glimpse it when they are in a flow state creating art, or music, or poetry, or dance - the arts get us partially there.  Maybe true master artists get all the way there.

That’s because when you create, part of your being moves to the center, to your true nature, which is a beautiful experience and gives you a taste of the infinite ambrosia that grows there.  

This is the vision I have for my personal life, for how I conduct business, and, perhaps, even how I interact on X-Twitter…should I end up staying there (if I can avoid the ego traps).

So, with these reflections, is it a surprise that suddenly the current state of social media holds little interest?  

Is it any wonder Twitter has been renamed “X?”  

Traditionally, we use an “X” to indicate Stop. Danger.  In cartoons we uses X’s on the outside of bottles to indicate poison.  And when cartoon characters drink the poison, we know they are dead when their eyes turn into X’s.   In software, we use a red ‘X’ to tell you that something failed.  In video, we use three XXX’s to warn you that it’s for adults only.  

Like a romance novel scoundrel with a five o’clock shadow and a strong jaw line, “X” contains both a warning and a titillating temptation.  The irony is that Elon put the warning “X” right there on the app icon in literal black and white, sending both its truthful warning and its tempting message to our egos - open me….and abandon all hope, ye who enter here.

So, my realization:  here I am, slowly awakening to the mystical wonder of existence, and the deep beautifying relief and joy of living from the true self, and X-Twitter, sadly, can only offer my poor ego promises to “build an audience”, to increase my income, to burn fat, to achieve six-pack abs, or to learn how to “make money writing online” from people who’ve never written anything except posts about how to make money writing online.

In other words, Twitter … ahem, excuse me … X promises status, power, money, and vanity to fatten up my ego-laden soul for Wormwood and Screwtape’s feast. 

We must picture hell as a state where everyone is perpetually concerned about his own dignity and advancement, where everyone has a grievance, and where everyone lives with the deadly serious passions of envy, self-importance, and resentment.”

― C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters

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Footnotes:

1. Kathy Sierra, on her excellent old blog, Creating Passionate Users, sounded the alarm on Twitter in 2007 in her post Is Twitter TOO Good?    

Creating Passionate Users was one of my favorite blogs and is relevant, even today, for any software app developer.  Sadly, Kathy withdrew from public online life due to misogynistic comments and threats that made her feel unsafe - an even darker side of the problems this essay is discussing.

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This essay was written for the Soaring Twenties Social Club (STSC) Symposium. The STSC is a small, exclusive online speakeasy where a dauntless band of raconteurs, writers, artists, philosophers, flaneurs, musicians, idlers, and bohemians share ideas and companionship. Occasionally, STSC members create something around a set theme. This time the theme was “perspective.” If you are a writer, I encourage you to consider joining us, I’ve included details at the bottom of this post. Lastly, you can find all my past symposium pieces by clicking here.

If you’d like to support independent writing online, you can subscribe to the STSC publication here. If you are a writer yourself, I encourage you to join us. You’d be joining a group of like minded compatriots. We have nearly 300 incredible writers & artists in our private Discord group (which will be capped at 300). As an author member, you’d have the opportunity to have your own writing appear on the STSC publication. To become a writing member, simply sign up as a premium subscriber on our founder’s, Thomas J. Bevan, personal Substack by clicking here. Once you do, Tom will send you an invite for our Discord group. Tell him “Clintavo” sent you!