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Introduction This workbook is for anyone who suffers from FOPO (the Fear of Posting Online). I am someone who came of age online, and who has seen some of the best and worst parts of the internet as a result. A lot of us know that social media is making us spiral, become more self-conscious and more judgemental. It’s become commonplace for people to take extended social media breaks, but the platforms are designed to have us coming back for more: more validation, more visibility, more connection, more information, more opportunity, more engagement. What happens if we rethink our relationship to social media as being just that: a relationship. As with any relationship, it has its highs and lows and is fundamentally built off of attachments. The majority of us use social media day-to-day, and over time have developed contentious relationships to unwritten social contracts. Selfies are out, photo dumps are in. Posing is out, blurry is in. The rules are always changing. But who’s writing them, really?
This document is a work-in-loving-progress. I invite suggestions, support and feedback. (neemagithere@gmail.com) 2
This document is a work-in-loving-progress. I invite suggestions, support and feedback. (neemagithere@gmail.com) 3
Logo graphic by Somnath Bhatt The Data Healing Workbook is the product of nearly a decade’s worth of my own exasperation with Instagram. I’ve fluctuated between urgency-informed oversharing and reactive divestment for years. In 2019, I made a whole spectacle of my Final Divestment™️ (only to return to Instagram 7 months later, inspired by a class I attended that my beloved Olivia Ross facilitated). That year, I started a divestment practice of seasonal-presence: spending 3 / 4 months offline, and 3 / 4 months offline (fully deactivating my account); which lasted until October 2023. With support from Stanford University’s Digital Civil Society Lab, I embarked on the journey of compiling my digital spirals and the personal toolkits I developed in response to them into what is now this journal. The journal was more or less finished by September 2023, but just as I was gearing up to put it out in the world, the genocide in Gaza began and I put the project to the backburner out of necessity. Everything I thought about how leaving Instagram was essential for our liberation was challenged to its core, as people on the ground facing terror – from Gaza to Tigray – pleaded with the world to share about what was happening to them, with any and all platforms at our disposal. My conceptualization of Data Healing continues to evolve, and so will this document. The internet is always changing, but there are some things that stay the same: our longings for connection, our fears of being misunderstood, our frustrations at not being heard. I wrote this journal to try and honor the duality of it all; but most of all, I wrote it to try and look shame in the face, and ask that shame where it’s really coming from. This document is a work-in-loving-progress. I invite suggestions, support and feedback. (neemagithere@gmail.com) 4
This workbook is intended to be a first step towards processing what our relationships to the internet are shaped by. At its core, this workbook is about naming–not shaming. It can be embarrassing to confront how attached we are to how we are perceived. It can be embarrassing to admit that we care about it at all. Internet giants profit off of our shame: they uplift the notion of likes and follower counts, and then contribute to an ecosystem where it’s uncool to admit that you notice. But caring is in. Combining theory, near-future speculative fiction, screenshot essays and reflection exercises; this workbook is designed to help you process, interrogate and rewir your relationship to social media. The Data Healing Workbook is a place for you to: Map how you feel. Map what you pay attention to. Map the judgements you make of yourself, Map the judgements you might make of others.
If enough people get creative about how to connect with one another, and how to unlearn the toxic habits that social media encourages, the easier it will be to move towards liberation — both on and offline.
This document is a work-in-loving-progress. I invite suggestions, support and feedback. (neemagithere@gmail.com) 5
A Code Poem to and from a Glitched Heart Initialize void Declare personas Function curated_echoes(digital_canvas): if digital_canvas == "profiles": set emotion to "fragmented" while avatars_thrive: craft_identity() // Pixels of projection posts_glow() // Echoes of curated moments followers_applaud() // Digital reward if authenticity_fades(): // Filters over essence soul_wanes() // Emptiness in gazes end_if end_while end_if if digital_canvas == "interactions": set emotion to "disconnected" while pixels_spark_conversations: adapt_to_trends() // Camouflaged discourse emojis_reign() // Emotions in simple symbols commented_dialogue() // Echoes of interaction if vulnerability_retreats(): // Masked conversations essence_retires() // Essence silenced end_if end_while end_if This document is a work-in-loving-progress. I invite suggestions, support and feedback. (neemagithere@gmail.com) 8
if digital_canvas == "comparisons": set emotion to "isolated" while feeds_scroll: count_likes() // Metrics of worth envy_flickers() // Shadows of longing posts_compare() // Moments juxtaposed if connection_weakens(): // Illusory ties spirit_craves_presence() // Embrace beyond screens end_if end_while end_if if digital_canvas == "mirrors": set emotion to "reflective" while screens_dim: ponder_legacy_archives() // Digital memories introspective_pixels() // Reckoning in code seek_genuine_self() // Breadth rekindled if breadth_rekindles(): // Unfiltered light spirit_reconnects() // Realms of belonging end_if end_while end_if End_function
curated_echoes("profiles") curated_echoes("interactions") curated_echoes("comparisons") curated_echoes("mirrors") This document is a work-in-loving-progress. I invite suggestions, support and feedback. (neemagithere@gmail.com) 9
On Harm Reduction The concept of Harm Reduction has emerged from substance abuse recovery communities. Instagram operates similarly to drugs in our brain – toying with our dopamine levels and cultivating addictive dependence. Harm reduction acknowledges that if engaging in harmful activity (in this case, being on Instagram) can not be avoided for whatever reason, then it is essential to put protective measures in place to minimize the damage caused by that activity.
Harmreduction.org
How have Facebook and/or Instagram brought harm (socially, spiritually, physically, psychologically, politically or interpersonally) into your life? _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________
This document is a work-in-loving-progress. I invite suggestions, support and feedback. (neemagithere@gmail.com) 38
How might you have harmed others in response? (It might be worth beginning your reflection by defining what you consider as ‘harm’ within the contexts listed above) _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________
What would digital harm reduction look like within your personal relationship to Instagram? _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________
This document is a work-in-loving-progress. I invite suggestions, support and feedback. (neemagithere@gmail.com) 39
Week 4: Suggested Divestment Strategies Set your own goals: ● One week, one month, one year – the timeline is yours to determine. Choose something that has personal significance to you, and remember to infuse compassion into the process. Divesting is like exercising – it can be grueling to start, and difficult to keep up, but if the rewards you seek are set by a personal desire for discipline instead of shame, then the rewards become more nourishing. Mutual Gentle Accountability ● Divesting from the internet is easier when you feel like you’re not doing it alone. ● Consider one close person in your life who you could embark on your divestment detox with. Commit to checking in on one another daily, reflecting on the highs and lows of what you experienced in the day. ○ Idea: Changing one another’s passwords, and creating a system for how you will access the platforms. (“move at the speed of trust” - adrienne maree brown) ● Tip: Try not to shame yourselves or one another for symptoms of withdrawal. ○ (When I divested from Twitter, for example, I noticed that I was laughing less – scrolling was one way I got comical refuge from the world and not having access to that is one of the main things that made me crave being back on there) Make an iCloud Shared Photos Album ● An alternative to posting on Instagram Stories. ● Add the people who you want to share updates with to the shared folder. ○ iCloud albums allow for likes/ comments, and send notifications to the people in the group when you add photos/videos into the album.
Create Separate Page for Your Curiosities or Most Personal Relationships ● Create a list of people you want to keep up with. ● A checklist for determining these accounts: ○ Is this a resource? Are there other ways I can get this information? ○ Is there a place I can keep up with this person/project off of Instagram/Twitter? A Call a Day Keeps the Blues Away ● Check in on the people you love. One of the most healing things of all is being remembered.
This document is a work-in-loving-progress. I invite suggestions, support and feedback. (neemagithere@gmail.com) 62
Additional Resources: #DivestFromInstagram Are.na Channel (the source of the screenshots above) & Data Healing’s Collection in the Cyberfeminism Index by Mindy Seu. This document is a work-in-loving-progress. I invite suggestions, support and feedback. (neemagithere@gmail.com) 63