The Ouroboros Of Social Media: Circular Conversations & Purity Tests
Let’s be honest; social media is a cesspool. This may sound like an outlandish statement given that our culture largely views social media as a net positive, as exemplified in this quote from Kappan Online: "The internet can be a minefield of misinformation, misbehavior, divisiveness, and risk, but it is also the scene of an extraordinary revolution in out-of-school teaching and learning” (Gee, 26 Feb. 2018). Sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are not actually focused on increasing conversation & communication; despite what they advertise. Instead, these applications (and many more) are focused on entrapping an audience through circular reasoning.
For those unfamiliar with the term, “Circular reasoning is a logical fallacy in which the reasoner begins with what they are trying to end with” (Circular Reasoning, 2023). Social Media Users are presented with a false premise that they themselves must consume to create. Unfortunately, Social Media has ingrained the idea that “if you don't share what you're doing, then it doesn't matter.” A great example of this is the site Instagram where users are invited to "make connections with people who see the world in interesting ways.”
On Instagram, users post what's happening in their everyday life and like the content posted by those they follow. Unfortunately, this has created a like-driven economy where users must present increasingly artificial, fantastical versions of themselves to gain more attention, more followers, and ultimately more likes. To “make connections with people,” the Instagram user must dilute themselves. To interact with the “world in interesting ways,” the user must rely on tropes and hashed-out conventions. Instagram's user base has become artificial, repetitive, and attention-addicted. By becoming artificial to “engage with what's real,” the Instagram user becomes an Ouroboros, a snake eating its own tail.
In my last blog post, I wrote, “[Twitter] is an incredibly powerful tool… [capable of] facilitating in-depth conversations [which] often tailspin into [circular discussions about tribal politics].” Unfortunately, I missed that this was the entire point of the Twitter platform, and to an extent, the wider world of Social Media. On Twitter, the user is told that the platform is a place of constant, deep, thought-provoking conversations about the topics they care about. In reality, they are presented with a “super reality” that elevates the individual to being the center of their own universe. This “turns’ their thoughts, feelings, and opinions into facts, making any contradictions which may exist, egregious lies, and the individuals who retort them, aggressive liars.
Twitter has created a world where one absolute truth and a billion truths simultaneously exist, and its effects on all aspects of culture have been horrific. “In this blog post, I want to examine how Twitter and Social Media have tribalized the Old School Renaissance. Additionally, I will explore how purity tests are undermining and destroying our hobby. Lastly, I will attempt to convince you why you should abandon social media to heal our hobby” (ChatGPT 2023).
It wasn’t until I first joined Twitter in 2021 when I began to think that the OSR wasn’t a united monolith. It was on Twitter where I learned that within the OSR there wasn't a consensus on the meaning of the acronym defining the movement. Does OSR mean Old School Renaissance? Old School Revival? Or Old School Resistance? It can’t be representative of any of these titles if the meaning of OSR is subjective. Twitter exposed cracks in the foundation, cracks that I perceived as real when I first conceived of this blog.
“On Twitter, the OSR presents itself as a confederation of small factions led by charismatic [strongmen], each with followers expressing either vehement disdain for modern mainstream D&D or a profound nostalgia for the past'' (ChatGPT, 2023). The opinions of these strongmen are treated as fact; their insults become slogans and rallying cries, their preference for one game system over another becomes gospel. The more absurd or ostentatious their statements, the more support they receive.
Rick Stump puts it best when he says “Twitter is the Reality TV show of online discourse.” Social media’s use of algorithms to create echo chambers or “super realities” as RPG Pundit would put it, is the root cause of division not just in our hobby but also in the culture at large. The exacerbation of relations between Republicans and Democrats, the “evangelical” proclamations of the BROsr, the disdain thrown at “NSR games” like Knave, Shadow Dark, and ACKS; it’s all just symptoms of the tribalization created by social media, and sadly I think Twitter is the worst offender.
These charismatic strongmen “foster a culture where any contradiction is not merely a difference of opinion but an assault on a carefully constructed personal truth. In this environment, purity tests become the litmus test of loyalty and conformity” (ChatGPT, 2023). The audiences of these charismatic strongmen use purity tests to signal virtue to one another and rationalize their belonging in the community.
The BROsr is a great example of this within the D&D space. Strongmen like Bdubs, Jeffro, and GelatinousRube often roast one another’s opinions and actions. When called on it, they like to insist it's a form of “playful banter” they call Kayfabe. When asked about the meaning of Kayfabe, a word they appropriate from WWE wrestling, they often move the goalposts by continually changing or shifting the definition. This behavior turns discourse into a battleground of false absolutes, raising the question: is social media designed to connect and has inadvertently become a battleground of absolutes? Or is social media designed to divide and distract?
In my opinion, “the danger of [Social Media] lies not only in the creation of echo chambers but in the active propagation of a singular, unassailable truth, [which stifles] healthy discourse” (ChatGPT, 2023).
Gee, James Paul. "Affinity Spaces: Where young people live, learn, and school online." Phi Delta Kappan, 26 Feb. 2018, https://kappanonline.org/gee-affinity-spaces-young-people-live-learn-online-school/.
OpenAI. "ChatGPT." GPT-3.5 Architecture. Accessed 6 Dec. 2023. https://chat.openai.com/.
For those unfamiliar with the term, “Circular reasoning is a logical fallacy in which the reasoner begins with what they are trying to end with” (Circular Reasoning, 2023). Social Media Users are presented with a false premise that they themselves must consume to create. Unfortunately, Social Media has ingrained the idea that “if you don't share what you're doing, then it doesn't matter.” A great example of this is the site Instagram where users are invited to "make connections with people who see the world in interesting ways.”
On Instagram, users post what's happening in their everyday life and like the content posted by those they follow. Unfortunately, this has created a like-driven economy where users must present increasingly artificial, fantastical versions of themselves to gain more attention, more followers, and ultimately more likes. To “make connections with people,” the Instagram user must dilute themselves. To interact with the “world in interesting ways,” the user must rely on tropes and hashed-out conventions. Instagram's user base has become artificial, repetitive, and attention-addicted. By becoming artificial to “engage with what's real,” the Instagram user becomes an Ouroboros, a snake eating its own tail.
In my last blog post, I wrote, “[Twitter] is an incredibly powerful tool… [capable of] facilitating in-depth conversations [which] often tailspin into [circular discussions about tribal politics].” Unfortunately, I missed that this was the entire point of the Twitter platform, and to an extent, the wider world of Social Media. On Twitter, the user is told that the platform is a place of constant, deep, thought-provoking conversations about the topics they care about. In reality, they are presented with a “super reality” that elevates the individual to being the center of their own universe. This “turns’ their thoughts, feelings, and opinions into facts, making any contradictions which may exist, egregious lies, and the individuals who retort them, aggressive liars.
Twitter has created a world where one absolute truth and a billion truths simultaneously exist, and its effects on all aspects of culture have been horrific. “In this blog post, I want to examine how Twitter and Social Media have tribalized the Old School Renaissance. Additionally, I will explore how purity tests are undermining and destroying our hobby. Lastly, I will attempt to convince you why you should abandon social media to heal our hobby” (ChatGPT 2023).
The Apparent Tribalization Of The Old School Renaissance
I first delved into the OSR back in 2016, after stumbling upon Ben Milton, more commonly known as Questing Beast. His product reviews and blog post recommendations allowed me to vicariously experience D&D. At the time, my parents held opinions about D&D largely informed by the satanic panic of the 1980s. While I wasn’t actively contributing or partaking in the hobby at this time, Ben’s videos made me feel like I was participating in a large cooperatively creative community. From that point on, up until 2021, my exposure to the OSR was limited to Kickstarter-driven product review channels, blogs like ‘The Alexandrian,’ and Ten Foot Pole, and creators like David McGrogan, The Merry Mushmen, The Swordfish Islands, Zedec Siew, JP Coovert, and Andrew Kolb. I held the opinion that the OSR was a substantially sized community dedicated to playing and innovating upon the principles presented in older editions of D&D.It wasn’t until I first joined Twitter in 2021 when I began to think that the OSR wasn’t a united monolith. It was on Twitter where I learned that within the OSR there wasn't a consensus on the meaning of the acronym defining the movement. Does OSR mean Old School Renaissance? Old School Revival? Or Old School Resistance? It can’t be representative of any of these titles if the meaning of OSR is subjective. Twitter exposed cracks in the foundation, cracks that I perceived as real when I first conceived of this blog.
“On Twitter, the OSR presents itself as a confederation of small factions led by charismatic [strongmen], each with followers expressing either vehement disdain for modern mainstream D&D or a profound nostalgia for the past'' (ChatGPT, 2023). The opinions of these strongmen are treated as fact; their insults become slogans and rallying cries, their preference for one game system over another becomes gospel. The more absurd or ostentatious their statements, the more support they receive.
Rick Stump puts it best when he says “Twitter is the Reality TV show of online discourse.” Social media’s use of algorithms to create echo chambers or “super realities” as RPG Pundit would put it, is the root cause of division not just in our hobby but also in the culture at large. The exacerbation of relations between Republicans and Democrats, the “evangelical” proclamations of the BROsr, the disdain thrown at “NSR games” like Knave, Shadow Dark, and ACKS; it’s all just symptoms of the tribalization created by social media, and sadly I think Twitter is the worst offender.
The Undermining Nature Of Purity Tests
Earlier in this blog post, I wrote “[Twitter presents users] with a “super reality” that elevates the [user] to being the center of their universe. Turning their thoughts, feelings, and opinions into facts”. The charismatic strongmen (also mentioned earlier in this blog post) of the platform use this fact as a weapon. Convincing their followers that their way is the best way. Painting anyone who mentions any contradictions as a deliberate liar or a misinformed soul. In a way, these charismatic Strongmen and their captive audience act kinda like a cult.These charismatic strongmen “foster a culture where any contradiction is not merely a difference of opinion but an assault on a carefully constructed personal truth. In this environment, purity tests become the litmus test of loyalty and conformity” (ChatGPT, 2023). The audiences of these charismatic strongmen use purity tests to signal virtue to one another and rationalize their belonging in the community.
The BROsr is a great example of this within the D&D space. Strongmen like Bdubs, Jeffro, and GelatinousRube often roast one another’s opinions and actions. When called on it, they like to insist it's a form of “playful banter” they call Kayfabe. When asked about the meaning of Kayfabe, a word they appropriate from WWE wrestling, they often move the goalposts by continually changing or shifting the definition. This behavior turns discourse into a battleground of false absolutes, raising the question: is social media designed to connect and has inadvertently become a battleground of absolutes? Or is social media designed to divide and distract?
In my opinion, “the danger of [Social Media] lies not only in the creation of echo chambers but in the active propagation of a singular, unassailable truth, [which stifles] healthy discourse” (ChatGPT, 2023).
Log Off, Return To Reality
Culture hasn’t always been divided like it is today, just like the Hobby hasn’t always been focused on edition wars and purity tests. I’ve stated this before, but ultimately, I think the culture would benefit from a return to the table. We spend too much time debating others and inflating our own egos on social media. If we deleted our social media, we could then spend the extra time researching, prepping, and playing games of D&D. Social media provides us with a false sense of community, distracting us from the real connections we could be forming in game stores, cafes, and libraries.Works Cited
Wikipedia contributors. "Circular reasoning." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, [09/14/2023]. Web. [11/30/2023] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circular_reasoning.Gee, James Paul. "Affinity Spaces: Where young people live, learn, and school online." Phi Delta Kappan, 26 Feb. 2018, https://kappanonline.org/gee-affinity-spaces-young-people-live-learn-online-school/.
OpenAI. "ChatGPT." GPT-3.5 Architecture. Accessed 6 Dec. 2023. https://chat.openai.com/.
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