If you're like me, you probably receive a deluge of news, ideas, inspiration and updates from multiple accounts each day.  Between our inboxes, social media accounts, chat groups, websites and personal networks, information is all around us.  

Pay Attention to Your Diaspora Consumption

Our diaspora consumption is meant to strengthen our sense of self and help us feel more connected. But sometimes, it seems we are taking in more harm and stress than good.

The average diaspora person gets their news from social media, family, friends, and more social media.  That means the information might be more emotionally charged in its delivery, even visceral in some ways. 

And even though we crave hearing what's happening somewhere around the world from as many sources as we can find, it's worth remembering that social media content is also prone to manipulation through misinformation and disinformation more than ever before. 

Are You Diaspora Doomscrolling?

For diasporas, war reporting, citizen journalism, advocacy campaign and the ever changing local, global and diaspora media landscape means we're receiving more information about our ancestral and adopted homelands in more ways, through more channels, platforms and technologies.

Its an immersive experience that can include overstimulation, sensory agitation and extreme exposure to violence. 

And that is what we call diaspora doomscrolling and it's causing severe diaspora distress.

Diaspora doomscrolling has always been here, it's just faster and more pronounced now.  What once required hours of connecting to receive information, now only takes a few seconds. 

Twenty years ago, I spent hours calling relatives, visiting internet web sites, and comparing news reports from different countries just to get a sense of what's happening halfway around the world. 

Ten years ago, newsletter subscriptions, Google alerts, and listservs gave me a sense of being close to the pulse of what's happening.  

Now, all we have to do is get on my phone and everything comes blaring through - visually, urgently, and yes - violently.  

As much as I love my connectivity, especially through social media, I have always managed my relationship with it for fear of losing myself to the dangerous abyss of harmful, violent and abusive content that is only one click or keystroke away.  This is not unique, I know, but for diasporas it feels particularly acute. 

Think about it.  As diaspora scrollers, for every piece of inspiring, informative content, we can easily come across content that is particularly harmful for us. 

We are diaspora doomscrolling. There are the constant diaspora wars, trolls, abusers ad malicious actors, coupled with the harm, toxicity, and state-sanctioned violence or armed conflict for us to experience in real time. We consume and view varying levels of police brutality, with Black bodies suffering over and over again, along with poverty porn and the West's fixed gaze on African suffering.  It's a constant visualization of armed groups brutalizing innocent civilians, with children crying, suffering and dying before our very eyes. 

I already work on many of these issues, and at times, my diaspora spirit struggles to maintain itself viewing these sights in my home after a long day. 

Diaspora doomscrolling is a brutal, visceral assault to the diasporic mind, body and spirit, as we yearn to understand what's happening and stand up for our people. We sit glued to the news, the timeline, the reel, the viral video, the outrage, and the violence.

Today, our diaspora timelines and spirits are confronted with ongoing crisis and violence, with glimmers of hope and strength throughout each scenario. This is what we are consuming nonstop. 

• There's an assault on Gaza where the Palestinian people are experiencing a genocide. 

• Sudan is on the verge of a full humanitarian crisis and pending famine.

• Local and international actors in the Democratic Republic of Congo are accused of in child labor, resource exploitation and armed conflict.

• Communities in Tigray, Ethiopia continue to live under the remnants of an unfinished war as people struggle to return to their lives before the devastation. 

•  Haiti is undergoing a turbulent transition of power, full of unrest, insecurity and violence, with rays of hope as civil society continues to push for peace.

• Meanwhile, the United States is in a pivotal election year, with domestic and international issues are dividing the country even further. Diasporas of all backgrounds want the US to genuinely commit to international humanitarian law, robust diplomatic engagement as an honest broker, increased humanitarian funding, and the protection of all innocent civilians caught in war or conflict, whether in Gaza, Sudan, Tigray, DRC or anywhere else in the world. 

What suffering that is on our diaspora psyches. A suffering of its own kind.  Not comparable to the suffering on the ground by any means. But certainly a psychological, mental and spiritual attack on our sensibilities and ability to navigate our diaspora duties effectively and responsibly. 

It certainly feels like that for me. 

How Can You Manage Your Diaspora Doomscrolling?

• Consider Your Sources: Take a look at the quality and quantity of your sources.  Are you consuming information from too many sources? Is it too graphic or emotionally stirring for you? What other ways can you learn what's happening? Finding appropriate levels and sources of information for yourself is responsible learning. 
• Assess How It's Impacting You: Pay attention to your mindset and spirit as you consume this information. How is your mind? What kinds of thoughts are you having about the situation and your role in it? How is it influencing your sense of self and your relationship with the world? These realities require you to have a clear sense of your own agency and resolve, before they take you over.  Take stock of your energy, name it and let go what doesn't serve you. 
• Gauge What Other Outlets You Have: If you choose to continue following information and news that may have stressors such as violence, suffering, war and death, then pay attention to how you manage your well-being. Find outlets to balance your mind and energy to help shift away from the daily triggers that you might be internalizing as a member of the diaspora.
• Check Your Consumption Behavior: As diasporas, it is natural to want to learn how to use your time, talent and treasure to help your homeland, and that may require a lot of learning online.  But if you are constantly online, or constantly absorbing information, particularly about war, violence, and suffering back home, then it's worth taking some time to examine how you want to use your compassion for your homeland in a way that reduces your passive overexposure to harm. How can you manage your consumption behavior in a way that leaves room for other parts of your life to flourish? 
• Reflect On Your Daily Thoughts: If you are immersed in following humanitarian, political or conflict-related events, then it's worth paying more attention to your daily thoughts, and how you might be internalizing the pain and suffering.  Diasporas are extensions of our communities back home and our need and desire to help can send us into overdrive.  How do you talk to yourself everyday? What do you give yourself for rest, joy, and peace? How are you serving your spirit so that you can serve others?
• Redirect Your Energy: If you decide you want to remain in constantly informed and exposed state to extreme events, then its worth examining how you can leverage your energy for positive outcomes.  Anger can be a necessary fuel for activation, and it can open the doors to acts of service, creating spaces you wish existed, and organizing initiatives focused on community building and global impact.  Pay attention to how you want to redirect your energy from a passive state of learning to an activated, intentional use of your energy.