The Digital World Has Given Me A Friend Or Two To Fall Back On

I come from psychology, where we are made to learn varying philosophies through our intensive training. We are told about the background of scholars and what influenced their proposed theories forming different schools of psychology.

It is always interesting to know how a mindset can influence and affect other mindsets in a domino perspective lasting over decades. The fact that I like is these different schools together comprise psychology. Yet, in their form, they stand unique and different from each other.

On this note, appreciating the coexistence of difference, I am penning this article where I talk about how digital space has allowed me to discover myself and helped me find more about the potential I hold as a human.

Facebook

Facebook holds a unique space in my heart to date, however old or outdated it is. It allowed me to express myself in true space to others who were limited to an image of a fat child with an average mark-sheet and good for nothing person. It helped me communicate my successes as a leader in college, different activities I was involved in etc.

Its constant question – ‘what is on your mind’ motivated me to write paragraph-long blogs on various psychological perspectives. These posts were read by many, shared by some and liked by few as per the status of the Facebook algorithm.

But, the magic took place off the screen, where my parents were getting compliments on being impressed by my writings and understanding of humans. I feel thankful to the platform for helping me find one hidden potential in me that I never thought I secured.

Instagram (Earlier)

The photo-sharing app earlier was like an open journal for me. It helped me invest myself in the art of photography and poetry. The visual board it allowed helped me discover that I have a niche for creativity. While posting pictures, I used to write short and long poetic reviews.

It felt homely and intriguing when I used to get raving support in terms of likes and comments. But, with newer developments with ultimate competition and ever-evolving and confusing algorithms, the space has not done well in keeping my interest in it for long.

It turned into a commercial business for a chaotic mess of hateful people with linear, progressive thoughts and a high dose of irrationality. I still wonder why I post pictures singularly. I hardly get likes, but when I post with my partner, people suddenly pour all the love down.

Are we really out of thoughts of patriarchy? Or a bold voiced woman needs men to feel calmer and associated with societal demands and relations. Well, that’s a point to ponder upon, but my drifting apart from Instagram is a mandate story for now.

Canva (forever)

Okay, while the aforementioned platforms have come down to demand-based usage, this website and app is my forever love. The best thing I like about this app is breaking the hype around Photoshop and allowing people to discover their creativity to design and create what they call their own!

This website gave me an altogether different perspective about creating something different for others and myself. I have created numerous original designs by exploring this website, and people always ask where and who made it. I remember my guide calling me at odd times to design important mental issues related posters.

The designs were liked so much that it got an honour to put up on the NIMHANS, Bangalore IEC boards in the main pathway. Some people later told me how it meant different things for them, which meant so much to me! There’s a secret that I almost got a scholarship to NIFT based on my designs, but I rejected the same due to my commitment to mental health space.

When I have interns, I always teach them the same for their extra investment that they can use for later in life. But, it’s significantly less than I have asked them to make the same for my company or me. I strongly feel they are psychology students, and if they want to pursue it as a hobby, that’s a choice they make, not me.

I enjoy the designing aspect of canva, and it’s a therapeutic relief for me. It brings me closer to my creative self, and I can’t thank the creators of this app/website enough.

Youth Ki Awaaz

While Canva is my designing love, Youth Ki Awaaz is the most important thing for my writing journey!

I still remember the most touching aspect of the website. When it started, I used to receive e-mails undersigned by Anshul with a simple request that writes your heart to make a difference happen. That was when I was learning about my writing abilities and was doing some gigs with some websites in Chandigarh.

At that time, I wasn’t very confident about myself. So I used to make multiple anonymous accounts to write and post things about what I felt about various issues in society. Then came a time when a story was done on me through this medium with the help of one of the editors.

Following that year, I made an account with Peer For Prevention, and many people posted stories about their journey and views about mental health. You can explore the page for the writers. Last year, I changed the name to Jigyasa’s Guide To Befriending Life as I was solely posting most articles.

The platform gives me independent writing space with no compulsion on time. I post when I feel like it, and the support I get is humongous from the platform. It allows me to explore more and more writing styles and the creativity I want to bring as a writer.

So yeah, I hope you enjoyed meeting some of my digital friends, which keeps in place sanity and happiness. And I spend my quality time with them whenever time allows, and they seem to surprise me with something different and new constantly.

I also hope you use some to find out what suits you! My simple ideology states that instead of criticism, let’s constructively use the digital space to grow oneself and remember that no one shoe fits all sizes.