With Medea on TikTok

Have you ever considered that scrolling TikTok could be compared to Greek tragedy? It’s no exaggeration: the article argues that social media platforms exploit the most ancient part of our brain – the limbic system – to keep us glued to our screens, and that there’s a lesson here that Medea, the protagonist of the tragedy of the same name, would understand better than we do. The argument is that what we call “lack of willpower” in front of the screen is not just personal weakness, but a structural conflict between freedom and non-freedom that defines how we live in digital capitalism. We think we are free because we can choose what to watch, what to post, and when to turn it off. But the truth is that our willpower is systematically circumvented: social media doesn't force you; it seduces you, and you don't realize you've given in. This is where a concept as old as theater itself comes into play: akrasia, the weakness of the will. In ancient Greece, akrasia was the word used to describe a situation where you know perfectly well what you should do—study, go out, go to bed early—yet you still do the opposite. For example, just before committing her extreme act, Medea says: “I know very well that what I am about to do is wrong, but I cannot help it.” It sounds like the confession of someone at two in the morning in front of TikTok, repeating to themselves, “I should stop, but I’ll just keep going a little longer.” Neuroscientist Antonio Damasio has explained that the limbic system is much faster and more powerful than our rational cortex: when you scroll through a video, you don't really decide what you want to see; it's the emotional brain that drives your choices, and reason always comes later. The author of the article reports that even the developers of these platforms admit to being victims of their own algorithms: one of them, an Instagram programmer, said that at the end of the day, he realizes he has spent hours scrolling without remembering anything truly important. This is not just an individual problem, but a hallmark of digital capitalism: it gives us the feeling of ultimate freedom, but in reality, it is a trap that monetizes our attention and our weakness. There is an insight that is often overlooked when it comes to social media: it is not enough to say, “We need more willpower,” or, “We just need to turn off our phones.” We need to recognize that the battle between what we want and what we do is structural; it is a tension that permeates our era just as tragedy once did: the freedom that is sold to us is often a new form of addiction. Freedom is not about choosing from a thousand pieces of content; it is about reclaiming the ability to truly choose. If this perspective resonates with you, on Lara Notes you can press I'm In – it's not a like; it's your way of saying: This idea is now mine. And if tomorrow you tell someone that your weakness for TikTok has roots as ancient as Medea, on Lara Notes you can mark it with Shared Offline: that way, that conversation won't be lost. This Note is taken from an article published in Philosophie Magazin – you have just saved yourself more than five minutes of reading.