I have been thinking a lot about mindfulness around social media in 2021.
For instance, Facebook Messenger allows one to see how long it has been since someone else was active, and if they have read your messages. While there are some definite upsides to this, I have come to think the downsides outweigh the upsides.
The prominent downside of Facebook Messenger, to me, is that “Last Active 5 minutes ago” message. Essentially, this gives just enough information to feel like someone is ignoring you, and also suggests (to me) that everyone else has the same relationship with my status. This information creates low-key pressure to respond to messages quickly, and respond to all of the messages, so that nobody feels ignored.
But there are days where I want the freedom to not have to do that. For example, maybe I am busy teaching tai chi, or having a rough mental health day and I only want to speak to one or two people.
So, I have been rediscovering SMS and email recently, with this in mind. I have also been using Discord, which is quickly growing into my favourite chat platform. These are great options for direct messaging. For those of you who aren’t familiar, Discord works a lot like ICQ, but with a bunch of other really useful features:
- You can direct message people. Nobody can tell when you were last online, or if they’ve seen your messages. This allows for a more mindful approach to social media, without any self-pressuring.
- You can set a status, to indicate your level of engagement in that moment. This includes being online and available, do-not-disturb mode which is great while working, and total invisibility for those rough mental health days.
- You can create communities based around topics, such as Pa-Kua, roleplaying, art, movies, or video games.
- Allows for easy voice calls, video calls, and streaming of content to your friends if you want.
- There is no advertising. Anywhere.
So if that sounds cool to you, hit me up at Colin#9125. In any case, Discord, seems to me, to be a much healthier version of what a messaging app can be.
But I also do want a place to work on my ideas, to practice telling stories, and to record my thoughts. My old Live Journal came to mind for this; I want my friends know what I’m up to, but it is important to me to do so in a way that doesn’t feed into the anxiety-cycle that Facebook encourages.
So, for now, that’s what this blog is going to be.
