Reconfiguring Stoicism: Convergence of Self-Improvement and Masculinity on TikTok

Abstract

This research examines the multimodal representations of Stoic content within TikTok. The research aimed to explore the multifaceted structure of an emerging digital philosophy discourse and its implications for contemporary socio-cultural dynamics. It explores a fragmented version of Stoicism, focussing on the affordances of algorithm-driven platforms and modularity principles. For multimodal discourse analysis, 20 highly viewed (>300,000) videos under the hashtags of #stoic and #stoicism are selected through purposeful sampling. It identifies the emergence of a fragmented Stoicism, built upon platform affordances and audio-visual modularity. Emerging themes include self-improvement, being dangerous and traditional masculinity remarking a divergence from popular and classical interpretations of Stoicism. Through these key themes, construction of an arbitrary link between hegemonic masculinity, glorified individualism and Stoicism is explored. Employing elements of aggression, self-isolation and self-improvement, TikTok content creates a novel discourse of Stoicism which is elusive, abstract, and reliant on visually driven narratives.