8 Oct 2026
The Internet Is Not Real Life: Gatekeeping, Social Media Ethics, and the Performance of Authority
Jonathan Murphy, PMHNP-BC, gets feisty. Media literacy, the performance of authority online, and why he's been documenting everything.
Part catharsis, part warning for any clinician thinking about doing this.
In this episode:
▸ Why clinicians and social media ethics needs an actual conversation
▸ Representing yourself as your license, and what scope of practice means online
▸ The duty to educate first — and why the goal isn't the money
▸ A LinkedIn exchange about rejection sensitivity dysphoria as an online-origin diagnosis
▸ Neurodiversity as an identity and activism term vs. neurodevelopmental disorder as individual psychopathology
▸ Why you can get a diagnosis, treat symptoms, and meet your goals without joining a movement
▸ Critical theory as a tool, not a conclusion
▸ Psychology as philosophy, and why how you think is governed by schools you may not know you're in
▸ William James, Freud, and the 19th century handoff from religion to science
▸ The Natural History Museum as cathedral, and the secular church
▸ Myth means story, not falsehood — and story is what carries people
▸ Shadows on a cave wall, and the oldest medium there is
▸ The novel, mass printing, and how ideas got cheap to spread
▸ The performance of authority: the white coat, the razzle-dazzle, "look at this study"
▸ Parasocial connection, and why a book feels different from a feed
▸ Why live streams and tips are a structure he won't build
▸ Erikson, generativity, and what the 40s are for
▸ Making content in an empty room for a year without knowing why
▸ The roast video, and why culture commentary is a trap
▸ The pitch underneath anti-psychiatry content: don't go to the doctor, buy my course
▸ Emerson, self-reliance, and taking accountability instead of waiting for utopia
▸ Why YouTube is an entertainment platform and pretending otherwise is silly
▸ Being told to put your credentials in the bio, and not being used to the pedestal
▸ 113 videos, a 224-day health features application, and the documentation
▸ Why ADHD isn't something to identify with
▸ Morbid curiosity, the void, and what the DSM says about screens
"The internet is not real life."
📕 The Process: An Adult's Guide to ADHD Medication — https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0H2Z6PM4T (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0H2Z6PM4T)
📗 Cheat Codes — https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FMJLQKBW (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FMJLQKBW)
Referenced:
Max Horkheimer and the Frankfurt School — critical theory
William James, Sigmund Freud — the origins of psychology
Erik Erikson — psychosocial development, generativity vs. stagnation
Ralph Waldo Emerson — Self-Reliance (1841)
Marshall McLuhan — the medium is the massage
Charles Darwin, the 19th century shift from religious to scientific worldview
⚠️ Educational purposes only, not a substitute for professional medical advice. If you are in crisis, call or text 988.
Jonathan Murphy, PMHNP-BC | Focus Path
Licensed in MA, NH, WA, OR | NPI 1821441965
Board Certified | ANCC 2017007119
CHADD Professional Member | ADDitude Professional Directory
🎥 https://www.youtube.com/@focuspathsystems (https://www.youtube.com/@focuspathsystems)
🔗 https://myfocuspath.com (https://myfocuspath.com)
🔗 https://www.myfocuspath.blog (https://www.myfocuspath.blog)
📧 https://mailchi.mp/myfocuspath/focus-path-pmhnp (https://mailchi.mp/myfocuspath/focus-path-pmhnp)
