I recently joined the Melonland forums, and I’m enjoying myself there. It’s a community full of likeminded individuals who have the same interests as me, and I am always deeply appreciative of internet communities that value kindness and discussion. But as I scrolled around the forums and the site, I noticed a common theme - unplug and go outside. The forums even close on Mondays to encourage people to do that! Which… is a great idea in theory, and I 100% understand why it is implemented, but as a housebound individual who is sometimes even bedbound, it did get me thinking about disability representation and accommodation in the small web.
See, in theory, I love the idea that the internet should not be your whole life. And I do believe getting outside in the real world is extremely important. But I would like people to understand this: not everyone is capable of leaving the house, not everyone is capable of getting out of bed. The internet is my only connection to the world outside of my house. I love the fucking internet. I love the people I have met on the internet and the community I have formed. Many other friends I have are in a similar boat, too disabled to do a lot of things outside of the house. The internet has many downsides. A lot of them. But for many people it is a lifeline, a tool, a freedom.
This idea that using the internet too much stains you somehow confuses me. At times it can remind me of the way my Christian aunt talks about “not getting distracted by Earthly things” and tells me “don’t enjoy things too much or you’re sinning”. The internet’s existence is not the problem. The problem is, of course, capitalism. It’s been talked about to death, the commodification of the internet and the focus on profit above literally anything else driving authentic communities to their graves. The problem, on a more micro level, is also that the internet being everywhere these days means a lot of bigots are around to infect it. But if you wouldn’t make the argument that learning is bad because some people learn chemistry or engineering to make weapons, why argue that the internet is a blemish just because terrible people use it? There are also a lot of cool people on the internet! What about them?
I joined small web spaces to get more into web dev, self hosting, small game development, etc; computer hobbies are the one of the only hobbies accessible to me as a disabled person who often can’t leave its bed. So it is a little hurtful that a common message among abled or even non-housebound disabled webmasters is now “Unplug! Go outside! Make friends in the real world!”
So I propose this instead: adding on to the encouragement to unplug. Giving suggestions to people who can’t leave their house or bed - things to do besides scrolling mainstream social media or contributing to the “wider web”. Encourage them to diversify the websites they spend time on if they cannot go outside, or to try a new hobby if that’s accessible, or to spend time talking to a beloved friend, or call their pets up for a cuddle, or… you get the idea. I’ll pull a few things from Sky Stanton’s The Bedbound Activities Guide, but meditation is a great one you can do anywhere, you can also make gratitude lists, fantasize and daydream, if you can use devices, go on itch.io and check out some indie art/games/books! You don’t have to make going outside the end all be all of Healthy Internet Usage.
There are more housebound and bedbound people than you think.