Reclaim Social Podcast S02E03 - Tech, activism, and self-care during COVID-19 with Seyi Akiwowo

The third episode for S02 of the Reclaim Social Podcast is now live! 🎉

Our latest guest for the second season is Seyi Akiwowo, Founder of Glitch, a UK charity campaigning to end online abuse & champion digital citizenship.

It’s the second time that we’re talking to Seyi on our podcast. Back in January, we’ve had a great chat with Seyi on her experience setting up Glitch, the transition from politics to the charity sector and how we can end online abuse by championing digital citizenship.

This time, we wanted to continue the conversation on technology, activism, and self-care. In the context of COVID-19, there has been an increase in online abuse, racism, and hateful content. Black women have 84% more chances to be harassed on Twitter. Are tech companies doing enough to protect them?

Seyi is talking about the role of tech platforms in the current situation, how we can personally protect ourselves and how to hold everyone accountable. We’ve also talked about the importance of self-care for activism and how to set boundaries to protect our mental health during the lockdown.

You don’t want to miss this episode. Enjoy! 🎧

Listen to the episode

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Learning more about Seyi and Glitch

We’ve talked about many things with Seyi, including:

How Glitch has changed over the last 6 months
The rise of online abuse during lockdown
The need for systematic change for dealing with online abuse
How tech companies can understand BLM and protect their users more consistently
The survey that Glitch launched asking tech platforms to protect its users
The problem with bias and lack of understanding of tech algorithms for black people
How to hold tech companies accountable for protecting all their users
The need to include trigger warnings for all situations that may affect users
Why we also need introspection even for black users on how they use tech platforms
Glitch’s role in facilitating workshops on digital self-defence and their interaction with tech platforms
The importance of setting online boundaries and why this is even more important during the lockdown
How to protect our mental health when spending time online during COVID-19
The need to champion the good use of online platforms not just the negative sides of them
The increased creativity in online activism during COVID-19
How Seyi is doing during lockdown and the effect on her mental health
Why we should all come from “a place of rest” to do our best
The place she would like to travel first
Her favourite go-to song (and a playlist we should all listen to!)
A crowdsourced playlist she recommends on digital self-care (find it here)

Follow and Support Glitch

If you’re interested in finding out more about Glitch, make sure you sign up to their newsletter for monthly updates on how we can tackle online abuse and champion digital citizenship. You can also support them to continue fighting to make online spaces safer and free from abuse by donating here.

Their report on the impact of COVID-19 on online abuse is launching on September 8. It will include The ‘Ripple Effect: Covid-19 and the Epidemic of Online Abuse’ will include key findings into the diverse experiences and patterns of online abuse, and the psychological, social, and behavioural impact – especially on those with multi-intersecting identities. Join the launch event here.