- Subscribe to RSS Feed
- Mark Topic as New
- Mark Topic as Read
- Float this Topic for Current User
- Bookmark
- Subscribe
- Mute
- Printer Friendly Page
[CHAT] Days of our <online> lives
Who remembers the good old days of MSN messenger?
and MySpace?
Back before Facebook had come on the scene, you’d sit on MSN for hours at a time chatting with friends and pretending to log in *just* after your crush so that he/she would notice you were on (or was that just me?). Btw, Myspace is still a thing. Why? Who knows? But what we do know is that social media has changed – and grown – in a huge way. We’re liking each other’s FB statuses, retweeting, reblogging and sharing – connecting with each other in ways that were practically unthinkable a few decades ago.
All of this comes with benefits and risks, just like everything else in life. I’ll use Tumblr as an example: for those of you who don’t know Tumblr is a ‘microblogging’ platform where you have the option to make your own posts or ‘reblog’ (basically a type of sharing so that someone else’s post appears on your blog) a post. When I joined Tumblr I did not expect to find as many people as I have who share my worldview, and taught me so much about myself, themselves and the world. I was able to interact with people across the globe, and being Australian usually meant blogging with American nightbloggers who were awake during the wee hours.
Tumblr wasn’t – and still isnt’ – all glitter and fun times. A lot of the issues with Tumblr were similar for other social media platforms, and even now we’re still telling ourselves not to give out certain details about where we live. There’s always the worry that meeting an online friend IRL may not turn out as peachy as we might hope, and it can be difficult to read the intentions of a person you can’t actually see. This is where this week's Getting Real session comes in – hear social media stories of super great internet friendships, stories which didn’t turn out so great, and advice on how to stay safe online. Right here, Monday 29th June at 8pm AEST!
So basically here is what happened tonight:
The internet seems like a place where you can do anything: you can meet people from all over the world, get anything at the press of a button/click of a mouse, and you can stay in touch with family and friends wherever you go. It’s not all happy fun times though – not every website is safe and secure, and people think that they have a licence to be as rude as they want behind the anonymity of the internet.
That doesn’t mean that online friendships can never happen – in fact, you guys seem to think that they can be just as real and valid of friendships as they would be if you met IRL. Online friendships can be just as true if you feel like you are connecting with another person, even if you can’t see the other person
But what about social media as a tool for change? It can be a useful platform for people to get on board with social issues and pushing for change, and people who can’t do activism in the traditional way can just use the internet to get their ideas and issues out. However, that doesn’t mean all online activism is great and effective – they can be hijacked by corporate interests and have their impact or meaning dampened, or people may see tweeting or sharing as their sole method of activism without pushing consistently for change.
You all seem to be pretty savvy about staying safe online – you all try not to overshare and are careful with what you say and to whom. You also highlighted the importance of protecting your phone, as a way to prevent strangers from finding your location or having sensitive information revealed if it happens to get lost or stolen. The general idea: be careful what you put out, because it is there forever.
Unfortunately, not all of us were super socially savvy online. We all had that point on FB where our photos were embarrassing and we liked a bunch of silly pages. Some of us also learned to stay safe online the tricky way, through posting inappropriate pictures, or went through some scary times with strangers online. The one thing we had in common was that social media wasn’t always a smooth or cool ride
But that doesn’t mean amazing awesome stuff doesn’t happen on the internet!! From meeting new people, finding new jobs and even finding the mental health support and information you were looking for, the internet can be awesome sometimes!! Case in point: our very own ReachOut!! Shout out to all the amazing people on here, you guys rock!!
So what’s the best way to be a good online citizen? In short, make the internet as positive of a space as you can! Don’t be the one to post negative or trolling comments or posts, and if you can share something that would make someone smile or send them a nice message or comment. Respect one another, and don’t say anything online that you wouldn’t say to someone in person (or to your own mother). And of course, be yourself!!
Thanks for coming out everyone!! And thank you to @Chessca_H for co-hosting this GR Session tonight. You’ve all been excellent, and I hope you all have a great rest of your day/night!!
You try it!
Lastly, what’s one thing you’ve seen online today that made you smile/LOL?
Probably these pictures of Jackie Chan holding Golden Retriever pups:
I saw some tattoo fails
@stonepixie yes to being your authentic self!! The internet should be a place where you can express yourself
Don't say anything you wouldn't say to your mother
If someone said something bad about me online I'd go to 10X the effort to get them back a beauty.
To my face, well don't expect there to be no consequences but they may be smaller than online.
It shows guts to say stuff about someone to their face. People who say it online aren't ballsy enough and probably shouldn't type at all.
If we have no internet then there would be much less threats going around and the suicide rate would probably go down too.
Thanks @safari93 and @Chessca_H for co-facilitating tonight and to everyone else who participated tonight. Peace Out.