Self-Care
This was actually an interesting topic that I never realized was a thing until this class. I also never realized that what I do could be considered as ‘self-care’ online. Probably the very the first thing I did that would fall under this idea of ‘self-care’ was turn off all notifications from social media sites. To be honest, I didn’t really do that because I was trying to practice self-care, I only did that because I wanted to a) conserve as much battery as I can, b) minimize anything that may use up data. So Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, I turned off all notifications. So those would probably be the worst way to contact me if you needed me right away. I kept it on though for (Facebook) Messenger, because of group projects ……… (honestly can’t wait for graduation so I can delete this app). I also left it on for Snapchat, because like, Snapchat is the best. That’s also because unlike my other social media apps, I literally have about 20 people on Snapchat, and they’re all my actual friends or my cousins. So, whoever is sending me a snap, it’s definitely something I would want to see or read, because it’s from people that actually matter to me.
I also only really check social media via my phone. And my phone is always on silent. No ringer. No vibrate. Complete silence. Ever since 2011, that’s how I kept my phone. Now, the only reason I would ever put it on ringer, is if I have to pick someone up or if someone has to pick me up (like at a GO station), just in case~ But for the most part, for most of the day, week, month, year, it’s on silent. I started to hate the idea that my phone can summon me to check something with a little ring or vibrate. But for the record, I am really good at answering text messages and emails, despite my phone always being on silent. I don’t incessantly check my phone all the time either. It’s mainly because I have a habit of checking the time, all the time, and I don’t wear a watch anymore so, phone = main clock.
As with the content I see online — I only follow who I want to follow, and so I see what I would want to see. There’s nothing really that gets to me (except dog videos, I love dogs, and sad dog videos get to me every time). I get that makes a filter bubble, but like, I don’t care. I want to see what I want to see. If I wanted to see something outside my bubble, I’ll just go search for it elsewhere.
Anyway, I never realized that all these little things could be considered as ‘self-care’ so I feel like for me, these were more like unknowingly ‘preventative measures’ for self-care online. So I would recommend just tailoring your interactions with social media with the way you want to interact with social media. If you want a break, take a break. If you want to save battery, turn off push notifications. If you want to check social media all the time, then do that. Like it’s your choice, and as long as you can live with your choices, then do that. Just do whatever makes you feel better. And if you don’t know what’s good for you, I think a good start would be to try and remember the moments where you’re like ‘this makes me feel bad’, and then do the opposite, and see if that works.
