No to Noise

One of many lessons from Episode #45.

"Music and silence — how I detest them both! How thankful we should be that ever since our Father entered Hell — though longer ago than humans, reckoning in light years, could express — no square inch of infernal space and no moment of infernal time has been surrendered to either of those abominable forces, but all has been occupied by Noise — Noise, the grand dynamism, the audible expression of all that is exultant, ruthless, and virile — Noise which alone defends us from silly qualms, despairing scruples, and impossible desires for Heaven. We will make the whole universe a noise in the end. We have already made great strides in this direction as regards the Earth. The melodies and silences of Heaven will be shouted down in the end. But I admit we are not yet loud enough, or anything like it. Research is in progress." — C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters

The Screwtape Letters and the Perspective of the Enemy

The Screwtape Letters is written entirely from the perspective of Screwtape, a senior demon, instructing his nephew Wormwood — a junior demon assigned to tempt a human soul away from God.  Lewis's great irony is that the demons are the narrators — so the reader sees the spiritual world entirely from the enemy's point of view. Screwtape never calls God "God." He calls him "the Enemy." He never calls Satan "Satan"; he calls him "our Father Below."

In this passage, Screwtape expresses genuine demonic hatred of music and silence because both are, in his view, dangerous — they open the human soul to God. Silence allows reflection, prayer, and the awareness of transcendence. Music (in its true form) points toward beauty and heaven. Both are therefore threats to Hell's agenda.

The demonic counter-weapon is Noise — not just literal sound, but distraction, busyness, overstimulation, the constant chatter that keeps humans too occupied to think about what actually matters. Lewis, writing in the 1940s, was already diagnosing what we've now perfected: a world so saturated in noise that we've effectively done Hell's work for it, crowding out the conditions the soul needs to breathe.

Research truly is in progress… yet not everyone is a lab rat.

Darryl Hasen and Leading by Example

For episode #45, I had Darryl Hasen on the podcast, a young father, husband, churchman, and businessman. I knew going in that Darryl and his wife raise their kids without phones and social media. But what stopped me was not the decision itself or even the reasoning behind it. It was that Darryl does not ask anyone to do something he would not do himself, and that includes his kids.

He does not say, “you cannot have social media, but I can.” Instead, his message is, we are in this together. Darryl has intentionally chosen a life with less noise, making it a personal discipline to stay off social media and remain less attached to his phone.

In short, he leads by example.

That shift matters. For a kid, it can change everything. It moves the experience from “my parents are hypocrites, they are plugged in while restricting me” to “this is frustrating that I do not have what my friends have, and it can feel unfair at times, but I understand why, and I can even see the benefits of not having it.” I can attest. When I’m pulled into the noise, it can feel like the noise itself is taking something away from my sense of peace and freedom (from being in heaven).

My Struggle With Noise

I have not always lived counter culturally, but in recent years that has been my aim. One of the things I have struggled most to be sober from is the noise, especially social media reels, the casino slot wheel dopamine hit nonsense designed to take my time and attention.

When I started working, my screen time jumped to 6 hours a day. Six hours. Double what it used to be. And if I am honest, it was not because work required it. It is because I used my phone to drown out any boredom I felt. My attention span dropped fast. Every 5 minutes I was flipping my phone over to check it, God forbid I miss something. It became so addictive that I literally could not stop myself even when I tried.

Reclaiming Time

It got bad enough that a 60 dollar Brick device felt like a worthwhile investment. And let me tell you, it has. The pitch was simple: get back to living. I did the math and said I would be happy if I could get back to my original 3 hour daily limit. Three hours back means that over a 7 day week, I would get 21 hours back, roughly a whole day. At 52 weeks per year, that is over 1,000 hours a year, just under 50 days, which is about one sixth of my year back. The return on investment is huge.

Even though when I got it, I went back and forth between it working, preventing me from tuning into the noise, and unbricking my phone and tuning back in. Over time, that back and forth is what helped me break the cycle and slowly increase the time away, as my body started to desire what Screwtape calls music and silence.

What Changed When the Noise Diminished

Now it is not so back and forth. My phone is generally bricked all day, keeping me off apps that steal my time and attention. With my screen time down, writing and creativity are at an all time high. I am running out of ink for ideas. I am going on walks, reading, laughing more, and stepping into who I am. Comparison is no longer the greatest theft of my joy. I am more present with people. Spontaneous moments with strangers, friends, and family feel natural again. I feel calm, grounded, and at peace, trusting. The benefits far outweigh anything I got from being “connected” through social media. It is not even a question.

I am still cognizant of my social media presence, since that is often the first impression people have of you. Whether your Facebook profile is inactive with cobwebs or you are a major influencer, people will look you up. I have started to post more on this website as well, now that I have the time and inspiration to write without my mind being occupied by craving the next dopamine hit.

I also began posting on a new Instagram account for the podcast. It was easier, since I am not naturally a fan of posting on social media. It felt less like look at me and my life, and more like lifting someone else’s story up. Even so, it began to weigh on my mind again from random reels grabbing my attention. The Hasen approach has relieved me.

Seeing the True Cost of Noise

In short, the more I sit with what this noise is actually doing to me, shortened attention span, anxiety, and often a strong feeling of being pitted against others, even though I know it is engineered to divide, it’s hard to separate myself from that and therefore, the more I want out. There has always been one true enemy, and it is that which divides. I cannot blame the media or point fingers. I can only take ownership, step away from the noise, and do my part to bring people together. In short, I want to increase my desire for music and silence, which for me feels like heaven.

I believe there is a quiet desire in all of us. If we all decided together to turn it off, we would celebrate. Coffee shops would no longer be filled with earbuds in, tech-neck, everyone busy on their laptops. Instead, there would be spontaneous conversation, debate, connection, and liveliness.

And imagine if we stepped back from the noise together in numbers. It would make it so much easier. For now, my numbers are Darryl and his influence on me. Laughter, presence, and human connection.

Presence as the Real Gift

I do not want to only put the phone down on a weekend getaway. I want that every day. Because what I am beginning to see is that my true presence, my full time and attention, however long it may be, is the greatest gift I can give someone. It is all in the here and now.

Thank you, Darryl.

By Ethan C. Lewin