Isabel's Online Journal

My Experience

I try to navigate social media in a way that not only benefits me but encourages me in positive ways. How can social media be used for good? That to me depends on the audience you are trying to reach or the audience you are a part of, and whether it is a positive or negative environment.

I have always been infatuated with people doing extraordinary things in the outdoors, the adventures I’ve thought about but never known how to accomplish in real life and the idea that it’s just not achievable for me, the documentaries and films I watch about these people and their extreme lives seemed so out of reach. I recognise now that accessibility to do the things these individuals were doing was not available or very hard to find.

Banff Film Festival

Photo by Studio Saiz from Pexels

When the Banff Film Festival came to Melbourne in 2019 I was still in high school trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life, I knew my what my interests were but I didn’t know where to start, my mom had been going close to seven years at that point, she found out about it through a Facebook advert, from that social media link, this film festival has now been a part of my mom’s life and mine unbeknownst to me, every year since then.

I saw their ‘Gutsy Girl’ film campaign, empowering women in these extraordinary fields of physical escapades that completely altered my life, I saw, for the first time, it is possible to do these things I always deemed impossible for me, I never had access to it.  My mother encouraged me to go every year afterwards, following the film festival on Instagram and the women and men that inspired me through their short films. So, I did.

If it had not been for social media, my mother would not have found the film festival, we would not have gone together, I would not have found access to outdoor and adventure websites, academies and programs, or many of the individuals that still inspire me to this day. I would not have been encouraged to venture out into this field, and I may not have completed what I have thus far in my life.

So, how can social media be used for good? My mom finding the Banff Film Festival ultimately redirected my life, it provided me with a platform I could build and learn from. I am able to follow along the journeys of people that inspire me, individuals that have an impact on how I live my life, and the adventures I can create for myself. I began navigating social media in a way that benefited me and my future endeavours and I haven’t looked back since.