Following the right people
Indigenous and/or queer media, organisations, and individuals to follow.
IndigenousX: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/indigenousx/ | Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Indigenousx/ | Twitter/X: https://x.com/IndigenousX
National Indigenous Television (NITV) a broadcaster and media organisation made by, for, and about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and culture.: sbs.com.au/nitv | https://www.youtube.com/@NITV
BlaQ Aboriginal Corporation: https://www.instagram.com/blaqmobs
Trading Blak: https://www.facebook.com/TradingBlak/
Sisters Inside: https://www.facebook.com/SistersInside#
Troy-Anthony Baylis (artist, writer, curator): https://www.instagram.com/btroyanthony/?hl=en
Dr Amy McQuire (journalist, lecturer, writer): https://www.instagram.com/amymcquire_/
Vanessa Turnbull Roberts (lawyer, writer): https://linktr.ee/vanessatroberts?utm_source=linktree_profile_share<sid=03dcc050-f60d-44e3-b161-4f054f60fc19
YK Hong (US community organiser, tech justice activist): https://www.instagram.com/ykreborn/
Online Safety Advice
Make all social media accounts private, “I don't add anyone as a friend who I don't know” (P11 2023).
Follow activists rather than influencers (P8 2023).
Talking to young folk.
Advice from a Indigenous queer artist and social worker: Encourage curiosity and exploration but while saying this is not a reflection of the world. Have a conversation with them about the window that they're viewing the Internet through or about guiding principles (as opposed to instructionals) and encourage them to look at it as a game that should not be taken seriously. None of it is empirical or divine truth. It's all just a game and you're playing this game to see what you can find. What things spark your interest, what feels cool to be in, knowing that it all has (like every game) mechanics and rules that's running underneath it that you're not going immediately understand straight away, so take everything with a grain of salt and just treat it like a game” (P15 2023).
· None of it is true, but some of it may feel exciting and interesting to you.
· Be a looker and a player of the algorithm, like or dislike things to see what changes etc.
· When approaching the plethora of potential data that exists within the Internet, and be like how can I explore this ocean today? Ask what kind of things can I do to explore this today?
Advice from a Indigenous queer academic:
Be protective of who has access to to you on the Internet.
You do not need to turn yourself into a brand. “I try to advise younger people not to have a public online profile or to create an online brand for themselves […] I have seen how detrimental that can be. So that's something I'm very concerned about. I'm very concerned about young people, especially young black people creating themselves as a brand on the Internet.” Settlers are obsessed with Indigenous people and so they'll always be a settler with an offer for you, but it doesn't always mean that the offer is the best thing for you” (P11 2023). Indigenous youth “take a really high risk by being public all the time, and putting aspects of their life as public and then they can be really highly rewarded for it but the risk to them is incredible, and the risk is more likely to outweigh the reward. The Internet is a very high-risk, high-reward platform, and you can almost think about it like gambling, it's quite addictive” (P11 2023).