Mental health online (beyond avoiding the comments)
For writers, performers and other artists, social media can be both fertile and frightening. ABC’s Osman Faruqi shares some tips on how to take care of yourself online.
11 Oct 2019 12:00
Jinghua Qian
Writing and Publishing
It might be called ‘social media’, Faruqi says, but it’s increasingly indispensable to our professional lives – with consequences for wellness. Image: Marvin Meyer via Unsplash.
It can be rough out there on the rapids of the internet. Whether it’s the 24/7 stream of depressing news, or the harassment buoyed by ease, speed and anonymity, it all takes a toll on the psyche. For creative professionals in particular, social media engagement can often leave us exposed to intense and deeply personal abuse.
That’s a dilemma that’s all too familiar to journalist Osman Faruqi, the deputy editor of ABC Life and former politics editor of pop culture site Junkee.
Jinghua Qian (they/them) is a Shanghainese writer, poet and provocateur living in the Kulin nations. Their work has appeared on stages, pages and airwaves including Melbourne Writers’ Festival, SBS, Popula, Overland and The Guardian. Formerly the Head of News at Sixth Tone, an English-language media outlet based in Shanghai, and a broadcaster with 3CR Community Radio’s Queering the Air, Jinghua currently serves on the board of Asian-Australian arts and culture magazine, Peril.
Twitter: @qianjinghua
LinkedIn: qianjinghua
