A "virtue signaling" deep dive, anyone?
Please enjoy (or sigh exasperatedly) at me taking social media conversation seriously
Virtue signaling:
Oxford Languages (labeled derogatory): the public expression of opinions or sentiments intended to demonstrate one’s good character or social conscience or the moral correctness of one’s position on a particular issue.
Wikipedia: Virtue signalling is the act of expressing opinions or stances that align with popular moral values, often through social media, with the intent of demonstrating one’s good character.
Helpful Professor: ... actions that are more about posturing and impression management than actual action.
Last week an Instagram commenter said I was virtue signaling on a post about off-leash dogs in on-leash areas. This is not that uncommon of a reaction. The “leash your dog” conversation continues to be more controversial than my past self ever imagined—I’m not entirely sure what other stuff (defensiveness, resenting urban restrictions overall, the struggle to read tone online?) comes up for people here, but the responses often seem bigger than the topic itself.
As I should have predicted, this particular thread quickly devolved. I know I ought not to give strangers on the internet much of my time—especially after they’ve tried to insult me by making fun of people with disabilities (seriously?!)—but the experience did get me thinking more about virtue signaling: the words themselves, what we take them to mean, how we use them to talk about other people’s behavior.
And I’m considering some questions now.
When someone accuses you of virtue signaling, it’s not a compliment. But (if we take the words at face value for a minute) why is it inherently bad to signal—we’re constantly relaying information to fellow humans—virtues we actually hold? Certainly it’s harmful to look down our noses and write others off and shut conversation out. But in a world of overconsumption and division and literal fire, shouldn’t we all talk about our values more? I am not ashamed of my virtues—I’m proud of my beliefs. Why would I not want to “signal” them to you and then hear about your own?
Of course, it’s hard to discern from a single post or comment section whether someone actually lives out their values. And preaching “just to sound good” is the red flag in definitions of virtue signaling as the term exists today. Virtue signaling is done with the intent of demonstrating one’s good character and is more about posturing and impression management than actual action. (This is why it’s often associated with “popular” moral positions—it’s a way to fit in, at least shallowly. Not that popular things are always worthy of derision, but that’s another essay.)
So if our fundamental goal is to insist on our own loveliness? Yeah. Ew.
My question is how we make that distinction in practice.
Don’t we all want to have (at least our personal vision of) good character? Don’t we all want the people around us to see and believe in that character? Acting with public opinion as the primary interest is toxic and unproductive. (I used to struggle immensely with my own ego in the dog world, particularly when it came to Scout’s reactivity training—and it sucked for everyone involved.) But is it truly possible to act with no interest in public opinion? We’re social creatures. Of course I want you to think I’m good, or thoughtful, or reasonable, or something like that! Of course you want the same!
I think this is where I’m arriving:
Surface-level virtue signaling is shitty, particularly if it’s inauthentic (professed values are not internalized and followed) and/or lacks nuance (I don’t believe there’s “objective” morality allowing us to insist other people make our own exact choices). But virtue signaling that includes an explanation of one’s reasoning—by a person who lives their values earnestly—isn’t a problem. I mean, it’s not really virtue signaling at all. It’s just… talking about what matters to us. Sharing where we’re coming from. Discussing how we make decisions.
I am aware I’m spilling too much ink about this. (Good thing blank document screens don’t run out like pens. 😉) But the way we—collectively, modern members of our species—communicate online both interests and tires me. Word’s aren’t everything, but they’re not nothing, and it’s worth thinking about how we use them.
Sometimes we need to be called into conversation about properly uncool things we’re doing. Other times those of us doing the calling out need to look inward first. Pointing out that someone is virtue signaling can be a genuine critique of their behavior… but it can also be a lazy attempt to dismiss their arguments without consideration. I find that latter possibility sad and scary.