This blog was written by Katey Cheung, a participant from The Social Switch Project Digital Skills and Employability programme.
Digital spaces can mean a variety of things, from online groups, online games, social media, forums, and so on, but discourse tends to focus on painting social media in a negative light. Some people say social media isn’t social any more, so many have flocked to other online communities, such as online groups and less well-known social media platforms. In this article, I plan to highlight the positives of digital spaces such as social media to counter the negative discourse that is prevalent.
When I was living alone in London during Covid, I wanted to celebrate my birthday. I chose to create a Discord group of family and friends so we could play some online games to celebrate. I made a mental list of who to invite and invited them all one by one into a new server I created on Discord. Then, we agreed a time to play some games together. We played Among Us and skribbl, which was great fun; plus we did play again a few times afterwards, so it wasn’t just a one off!
From this experience, I learnt that it’s a great way to spend time with friends and family when you’re not all physically in the same place, but it would’ve gone even better if we chose a set time to meet in the server afterwards, so more of us could play together and try out different games. Online spaces such as Discord are great, as long as everyone is on the same page and dedicated to turning up to any online calls.
So, here are some other ways you could connect with people online:
- Network online and follow up with people you met in person on LinkedIn
- Chat on Facebook in local groups
- Look through Reddit forums for Q&As
- Chat on Slack with remote workers
- Join online professional communities like Girls in Marketing
- Attend virtual events like webinars, workshops, online conferences, and so on, especially if you attend events where everyone is high energy and very active in the comments, like at The Marketing Meetup!
- Or post on social media if you’re self employed!
I hope these suggestions helped you discover new ways of combatting self-isolation and make you feel more connected to each other. Ultimately, digital spaces are a tool for you to use wisely, considering the fact that everyone is human and deserves to be treated with respect.
Mental Health Resources: