Patterns of Modernity on X
Reveal and hide yourself
Disclaimer
Most of these patterns aren’t inherently good or bad—I just observe them and find them curious.
A Rolls-Royce Salesperson Syndrome
I had a vivid image from my past when someone said, "A Rolls-Royce salesperson returns home to their block apartment, lies on an ugly sofa, and watches a crappy TV show." On Twitter, where you often interact with complete strangers, I’m concerned about the 'Rolls-Royce salesperson syndrome.' Aside from obvious artisans, farmers, or writers—people with a specific trade—there are others who showcase shiny things, whether graphical or verbal, despite having no real connection to the subject they project.
Bot Alike
In Zen, they say you cannot fake yourself, no matter what you do. Every derailment is part of the Dao's way. Every time, it is you.
Paid trolls and bots aside, I’m sure you will always reveal yourself, whether you’re anonymous or not. Being anonymous, of course, makes it tempting to go to extremes.
What’s interesting, though, is that some people seem to enjoy mimicking bots. Previously, this was observed only in corporate accounts.
Paul P.’s account is one example of this. Though real, he consistently posts original, witty, yet largely repetitive ideas. No personal life shared, no erratic notes, no photos, no glitches—almost no signs of entropy.
Being predictably positive is an underrated virtue on X/Twitter. The best bots are designed that way. Humans, on the other hand, often misbehave. At some point, any self-sufficient and enthusiastic account on X will start parodying itself, and many did already.
Online Clubs and Cults
Clubs are online societies where members are supposed to discuss topics within a specific ‘community’ niche—fans of Dostoevsky’s books, traditionalist city dwellers, geopolitics experts, Orthodox aesthetics enthusiasts, etc.
Eventually, all clubs may turn into online cults, typically if driven by one individual. For example, a club might discuss a few writers, but a cult will focus exclusively on one. There are unwritten rules, such as how to properly praise the cult figure.
Some folks try to establish a cult prematurely, and it’s always pathetic. When you have five million followers, you might start a dangerous cult. When you have five or five hundred fifty-five followers, you can only start a pathetic one.
Cults often create cryptic language, another distinct attribute of modern times.
Successful clubs and cults may even become profitable through branding.
Online Branding
Online Branding is yet another hallmark of modernity, and I’ve fallen prey to it too. Essentially, it’s the belief that you can sell something original, often long after it was created. The problem arises when you try to sell things that don’t belong to you—like ‘Lindy’ products, concepts wrapped in obscure phrases with long Latin words, or famous writers you’ve never read. Even Leo Tolstoy can be marketed these days, with fake graphical quotes slapped onto his name.
Emerging patterns, without much proof yet
These are newer phenomena that I can’t quite define yet. One example is the rise of obscure pagan ideology or home-brewed propaganda (which can be mistaken for pontification). It’s scattered and subtle, but it’s there.