Discord – A Multitude of Musings

Daily writing prompt

In what ways do you communicate online?

I get almost all of my social interaction from the Internet. I mean, yes, I do interact with my staff offline, but I mean interaction for fun and connections. Heck, without the Internet, I wouldn’t have met my wife. I have probably told the story of how we met a few times before, but it all boils down to one message I put on a forum back in 2007 and my now wife’s desire to expand her social circle. Had I not moaned about being bored and feeling lonely living on my own, she might never have reached out.

As for the types of online communication I use, these have evolved a lot over the years. Forums are no longer a thing. Neither is Facebook or so I’m told, but I still use it almost daily. I rarely post anything to my personal wall, but I do participate in groups and gather information off Facebook (though obviously one might wonder how much of that information is actually misinformation).

I’ve been told blogging is no longer a thing either. It’s probably partly true, in that for a blogger I’m young at 39 and eventually the generations above me will die out. I have been blogging on WordPress for 19 years next month, though I’ve only had my current blog for 7 1/2. Oh wait, I briefly had this blog back in 2011 too and till this day remember an embarrassing post about my wife from just after we got married.

So what types of online communication are actually still a thing today? I doubt I use many of them. I never used Snapchat and only watched a couple TikTok videos several years ago. I did try Instagram several times, but didn’t like it. I do watch YouTube videos, but will never create video content myself and that does make it less fun.

I do try to use Discord for expanding my social circle but experience that I’m a dinosaur compared to most of the users even on adult-oriented servers. Oh wait, someone half my age is already an adult. I remember explaining that Discord is like IRC and mentioning this in a Discord server and no-one knew what IRC was. I got a comment asking how it felt to be older than Google and responded that I’m even older than the World Wide Web.

As I get older, I find it harder to adjust to the new developments in online communication. I mean, I’m typing this post using the Block Editor and that’s a major struggle for me already. I learned WhatsApp with relative ease in 2017, but Discord is very hard for me to adapt to. However, I do want to keep up with the changing world of Internet-based interactions. If I don’t, I’ll lose the most important vessel of connection to the outside world. After all, my life might’ve become less exclusively virtual since living in a care home, but like I mentioned at the start of this post, the Internet is still where I gather most opportunities for leisurely interaction.

Hi everyone. I’ve been debating for a few weeks now whether to choose a word of the year (WOTY) this year. I did so some years, but haven’t had a WOTY for a few years. I just came upon Deb’s announcement of her WOTY and this gave me the kick in the behind I needed to decide on one.

So what will my word of the year for 2026 be? I’ve had a few on my mind, but finally settled on: EXPERIENCE.

This year, I hope to experience more of what life has to offer. This includes being more mindful of my daily activities, purposefully choosing ones that enrich me. This includes crafting, cooking and baking, blogging and writing in general and reading. Today, despite struggling quite badly and feeling depressed, I managed to craft and write.

Like I shared when writing about my hopes for 2026, I also intend to expand my social circle. I feel rather insecure about this, being that I’m nearly 40, autistic and multiply-disabled. However, I’m embracing the opportunities to socialize that come my way. Today, I did try out Discord again in hopes of finding the community I used to find on forums back in the ’00s. It’s not the most intuitive social networking app, but I’m getting the hang on it.

I should say that I used to do with Discord servers what I do with Subreddits and Facebook groups, ie. I collect them as it were. This needs to stop. After all, social circles aren’t based on the number of likes or comments on a social media post. It’s about quality, not quantity. I struggle with this. It’s probably in part related to my anxious attachment and the fact that I’ve had more than a few groups I was deeply invested in only to be kicked out. Then again, I didn’t invest in genuine personal connections other than with my wife. That needs to change. If I want to experience all that life has to offer, I have to offer a part of myself too. This is scary, but I hope it’s doable.