Topic Tuesday // Symptoms of Social Media - Looking after our Mental Health online // Tues 19th Feb, 7pm AEDT

[greenspace]

I don't think there was a particular moment, but I found online friends who were open about the ups & downs of their lives. People I'd connected with through a common love of animals, or films, or human rights, and they'd be supportive and non-judgemental when I shared about my depression and anxiety, or they'd post about their mental health first. 

And fellow writers (I'm a wannabe, but several of my FB friends are published authors), who shared their wins and their losses. 

I've come to have a few dozen friends who talk about their lives quite openly. not everything, I'm sure, but not just the pretty highlights. We can all grumble, boast, express sympathy, ask for support, be silly, be serious...

[holly299]

I resonate with this so much. The best thing about my feed is that I follow some amazing and authentic people who inspire me to be the same. It's nice to have my own social media corner where I can be myself and show the good the bad and the ugly but also see that everyone else is going through their own stuff as well. Finding your people can really create amazing connections even through cyberspace

[Former-Member]

LOVE that you are connecting with fellow writers @greenspace  "You are the average of the five online friends you spend time with", this could be a new saying 🙂

I would like to thank our wonderful @holly299  for co-designing and featuring within this event tonight! Your expertise has been top tier and your work within mental health advocacy is much appreciated. Thank you for sharing all of your valuable insights

That's a wrap all! I will leave the thread open until tomorrow so you can debrief with one another. Thanks all for joining in.

[Razzle]

Hi @Former-Member and everyone else.  I’m in the city tonight, 400kms from home.  I went to a stage show tonight, not something I do very often so I missed tonight’s Tuesdays Topic, but I will read through the thread tomorrow 

[Smc]

Hi Peoples.

I was reading along last night but didn't end up commenting - full day and late dinner.

It's curious reading @greenspace @holly299  and others talking about finding positive pages, because that's what I try to make my FB page...

I rarely put up personal stories or photos, and often when I do, they're "connected" to an artwork or history post that I've come across and shared. I'm cautious about how much info I share in an easy-to-see way. I don't answer the "get to know you" questions, and I don't have a "bio" on my page. BUT if you friend or follow me, and get into a discussion about my posts, then you get to know me.
There wasn't much chat about online security last night? I figure that social media is about as secure as a paper bag. I deliberately have my security settings way down low, sort of as a reminder that nothing is as secure as you'd like to think it is. I did a bit of computer science many many years ago, and really, there's no such thing as an unhackable site. The only way to keep private info really secure is to keep as little of it online as possible. I figure if I wouldn't want my post published in a local newspaper, it doesn't belong online either.

I share science posts, art, craftwork, architecture, history, funny posts (cartoons that really made me laugh), but I avoid "linkbait" posts as much as possible. 😛 If I think a site is a linkbait minefield I'll often put up a warning in my comment. (Cute animals happen only occasionally, but I figure there's plenty of other people covering that topic!)
Sometimes I'll put up more serious topics as well. There's been the odd occasion when discussions between friends with opposing views have gotten heated. When that happens on my page, I post a warning that while they are free to differ, if the posts get abusive, they'll get deleted. I've once had to block someone who wouldn't stop putting up inflammatory comments and links, but am glad that it's only been the once.