Living off the virtual grid

One aspect of ordinary life in the 21st century many of us now take for granted is the internet’s penetration into many aspects and areas of life. There are to be sure, some people, who live off that virtual grid either entirely or to greater or lesser degrees. But most of us are connected through a vast, complex nexus that includes email, social media, streaming video and audio, and mobile technology. Given that, I have been giving a lot of thought lately to the topic of selectively muting and blocking when it comes to the many people, organizations, accounts, and institutions that communicate with us.

Is blocking access ‘non-Stoic’?

I’d like to briefly outline a case why somebody learning and practicing Stoicism should feel free to block anyone they decide to in social media. Not only that, I’ll go so far as to say it can be a good, prudent, and rational thing to do. And, they should also feel free to do so with YouTube channels, news and opinion sources, and emailers. They should tune out entire television channels, avoid shows people recommend watching and want to discuss, skip over podcasts. I think you’re getting the general idea by now. I’m saying that not only should the Stoic feel free to ignore, but it could be good for them to go further and block.

I expect at this point, some objections will almost immediately be raised. “That’s not very Stoic of you” is a response that we see all too often in discussions and arguments carried out in social media or in comments on videos, blogs, and the like. Often the people making that claim appear to have a rather tenuous grasp on what genuine classical or contemporary Stoics do advocate. That’s a phrase that often turns out in the service of bad faith, grifting, trolling, desire to play the expert, or just plain defensiveness. Let’s say in this case, it is in good faith. Isn’t it contrary to Stoicism to block people online? Shouldn’t a Stoic just endure whatever comes across their path? Doesn’t blocking reveal a desire to withdraw, to retreat? (Maybe into an inner citadel?)

Avoiding fake and forced positivity

This is a topic for a longer piece, but I think that many people in the modern Stoic community trip themselves up by buying into various sorts of hype that you see a lot of in online Stoic groups, programs, quotes, memes, videos, and the like. There’s a kind of perfectionism, an aspirationalism, an Ican- take-anything-ism that gets preached and presented (though if we look closely probably not practiced) quite a lot. It’s not really Stoic. All it takes is engaging with real Stoicism by spending significant time with the Stoic texts we have to realize that. And that sort of fake and forced positivity about one’s own capacities turns out to be not just obnoxious but in fact noxious, poisonous, damaging to oneself. The true Stoic is realistic about their own capacities.

The advice of Epictetus

What does Epictetus tell us about how we ought to act. Should we boldly launch ourselves into conversation with whoever comes along in social media? You’d think it weird to hand over your body to any rando you run across, so why would you hand over your mind? When we start practicing Stoicism, he reminds us, we should treat ourselves like invalids at first. He stresses constantly that we are going to be affected by the company we choose and keep. If he were present in our internet hyperconnected era, he’d extend that advice into how we engage with people online.

Blocking misinformation

You don’t have to give anyone space in your brain, time from your day, or even a hearing or viewing. That’s up to you. If you want to see whether someone is right, makes a good case, or offers something useful, you can engage them. But if they’re using the human capacity for communication to misinform, to try to make a buck off you, to argue foolishly, or even to tell you stuff you realize misrepresents Stoicism, you don’t owe them your time and attention. If you decide they’re not worth engaging, you’re entitled to block them. Or mute them. Or ignore them. Your choice. Myself, I prefer to block.

Greg Sadler of ReasonIO is an educator and the editor of Stoicism Today (ModernStoicism.com).

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