Evan X. Merz

I recently stumbled across one of the strangest things I have ever seen on social media, and I need to talk about it. I'm just going to embed it here because I think you need to see it in order to understand where I'm coming from.

First of all, the craziest thing about this video is that it doesn't immediately strike you (or me) as odd. It seems like it's within the range of normal cures peddled by social media health gurus.

But take a moment to think about what you just saw. You saw a man presenting himself as Amish, in a fully produced social media video, petting a shirtless fat man's belly, and boiling a homemade health remedy.

And if you're anything like me, you kind of believed him. After watching this video, I had a moment where I wondered if this is really what I should be doing. I had a moment where I legitimately thought that this Amish influencer really had some secret insight into health that I didn't understand.

His gimmick works because he's playing on your media and history literacy in a really canny way. You see the beard and the straw hat, and you assume that this is an Amish man. As such, you assume that he lives apart from most of society, and that by living apart, he has some special wisdom or insight into life that is beyond those of us who grew up in the suburbs.

He is presenting himself as an ascetic, and the idea that ascetics have some wisdom to offer normies like us is nothing new. Here's what wikipedia has to say about asceticism.

Asceticism is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from worldly pleasures through self-discipline, self-imposed poverty, and simple living, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world or continue to be part of their society, but typically adopt a frugal lifestyle, characterized by the renunciation of material possessions and physical pleasures, and also spend time fasting while concentrating on religion, prayer, or meditation.

Because of the way he presents himself, we see him as an ascetic from whom we can learn. Because of his appearance, we give him authenticity, and grant his advice some additional weight.

But we shouldn't. He's just another social media scammer.

WebMd will tell you that there is little evidence behind the cinnamon cure he is peddling.

Cinnamon does have antioxidant, antibiotic, and anti-inflammatory properties, but more research is needed to confirm these benefits before health care practitioners recommend cinnamon as a treatment... there is no evidence that merely eating or taking cinnamon can treat cancer.

Additionally, you should question the value of his asceticism. Being an ascetic on social media is extremely ironic. How can he really be living a simple life of poverty when he is recording fully produced videos for social media?

This type of asceticism is performative by nature. If he wasn't performing in the public square, then we wouldn't know about him. He performs in the public square because he wants the attention. His form of asceticism has a lot of crossover with attention seeking behavior.

So don't take his advice. He's not real or authentic. He's just another person who thinks that you should listen to him.