How to be a Rebel in a Digital Age w/ Mitch Horowitz
Jun 13, 2023
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Mitch Horowitz, PEN Award-winning author, discusses rebellion in the digital age and provides strategies for moving forward. Topics include the veneration of rebellion, navigating negative relationships during the holiday season, the impact of social media, and exploring shame and self-image.
Severing ties with individuals who engage in cruel behavior can lead to increased happiness and a more positive environment.
Prioritizing mental well-being during the holiday season and choosing solitude over toxic family dynamics is perfectly acceptable and can create constructive relationships with others who respect and value you.
Deep dives
The importance of removing cruel people from your life
In personal relationships, it is crucial to distance yourself from individuals who engage in cruel behavior, as their insults and demeaning remarks can deeply affect your emotional well-being. These intimate acts of cruelty are often overlooked in society, but severing ties with such people can lead to increased happiness and a more positive environment.
The power of embracing noble solitude during the holiday season
During the holiday season, it is important to prioritize your mental well-being and not succumb to societal pressures. Instead of subjecting oneself to toxic family dynamics or uncomfortable gatherings, it is perfectly acceptable to choose solitude. Loneliness should not be stigmatized, as it is far better to be alone with one's thoughts than exposed to debasement and humiliation. By avoiding stressful situations, you can honor your selfhood and create constructive relationships with others who value and respect you.
The need to break free from the cycle of online cruelty and sarcasm
While sarcasm and online cruelty may provide temporary relief or levity, constantly engaging in such behavior can be detrimental to one's self-image and emotional well-being. Social media platforms have normalized and monetized insulting others, but this pervasive culture of sarcasm and humiliation is not conducive to meaningful human connections. Rejecting this toxic online language, and instead embracing sincerity and empathy, is crucial for personal growth and creating a positive human community.
What does it mean to be a rebel in a digital age? PEN Award-winning author Mitch Horowitz provides us with three strategies to move forward. Recorded live at Digital Void's Meme in the Moment Festival in New York City on Wednesday, October 26, 2022.
🎟️ You can see Mitch and an incredible lineup of speakers including Shannon Liao, Allegra Frank, Douglas Rushkoff, Ena Da, and Ryan Broderick at Memes, Myths, and Magic on Wednesday, June 21, 2023 at New York City's Caveat. Click here to purchase tickets and livestream!
Mitch Horowitz is a historian of alternative spirituality and one of today’s most literate voices of esoterica, mysticism, and the occult. Mitch illuminates outsider history, explains its relevance to contemporary life, and reveals the longstanding quest to bring empowerment and agency to the human condition. Mitch is a writer-in-residence at the New York Public Library and the PEN Award-winning author of books including Occult America; One Simple Idea; The Miracle Club; Daydream Believer; Uncertain Places; and the forthcomingModern Occultism.