Practically everyone knows about the church mask. All calls for authenticity in churches are calls to remove the mask of righteousness to some degree. Few people calling for such actions are interested in having full view of another person. Rather, we prefer some people keep the veneer of normality in place to keep the rest of us comfortable. And then some people are so confused they believe being their authentic selves requires a mask. Calls for authenticity in churches are merely another way of condemning people in church with a double-bind.
Another Mask
David wore masks. One was the mask of insanity. After running away from King Saul to Gath, he heard disturbing news. “David took these words to heart was very much afraid of King Achish of Gath. So he changed his behavior before them; he pretended to be mad in their presence. He scratched marks on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle run down his beard.” (1 Samuel 21:12-13) The philistine king is convinced.
Social media allows us to pretend. Who am I? Who do you say I am? We try to make the answers match. Among the people I see in my daily feed, there are conservatives, liberals, LGBTQ+, atheists, religious, spirituality practitioners, quasi-intellectuals, conspiracists, foolish people, satanists, communists, fascists, allies, worked up people, woke folks, and friends. I ask two questions about each of them. Who are you? And who are you trying to get me to believe you are?
The False Face
Not-so-funny jokes are told about the phony photographs some people use on dating apps. It is obvious that some of those profiles are illegitimate unless someone has a desire to believe them. The algorithm gives a false sense of itself as being all-knowing and feeling omnipresent. It does so by appearing to fulfill these desires. Social media is itself a mask pretending to be a metaphysic. By sending friend requests, advertisements, and followers, the algorithm gives our social media masks the appearance of reality. I am precisely who I am telling you I am.
Yet, I am only that person in my imagination. I am trying to be that same person in yours. In doing this we hope to gain attention and feel we are important.
Mask of Distraction
As children we learned to pretend and role-play. Those games played by previous generations of kids – “cops and robbers” or “cowboys and Indians” were meant recreate scenarios of conflict, victory, and/or defeat. Social media allows for the same pretense of victory or defeat – honor or dishonor. The positive reinforcements one receives can be addictive. The algorithm eases the path to receiving accolades that are meaningless.
Our own mask within the social media mask is a distraction worse than the church mask. We have all the evidence we need of our own righteousness when our thoughts are supported and shared. The “technological society” becomes the technological self. And we become distracted from our neighbors for friends that have no reality.
The Circle
Social media has many good attributes when it is a mere tool. I use it to spread my thoughts in these posts. However, the circle of technological consumerism is a Daedalus’ trap without the interesting turns of the labyrinth. As Icarus learned, some of his father’s inventions were not fool-proof. James claims the person who only hears the word and fails to practice them are like people who see their own reflection and forget it immediately upon walking away. (James 1:22-24) Social media has no mirror. It gives us only what we wish to see. It destroys any hope of seeing our real selves.
The perfect circles of the ancient imagination were dismantled after careful observation. Looking at ourselves will go a long way to dismantling the false selves and images we have. We can look for a real life then.
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