Living with dementia magazine February 2010

Are you connected?

With more than 300 million users, social networking site Facebook is one of many valuable online tools to raise awareness of Alzheimer's Society and dementia.

By Tom Hubbard-Green, the Society's E-marketing Executive

We saw the beginning of the availability of remote support when Alzheimer's Society launched its helpline in 1998. Whereas face-to-face support often took place over tea and biscuits at volunteers' kitchen tables, more carers and people with dementia are now turning to the internet for 24-hour support.

Growing numbers of the Society's own members are signing up to Talking Point as they realise the value of our online forum. In response to Talking Point's enormous success, the Society's new media team decided to expand our web presence to selected social networking sites. These are websites where people can connect and converse with like-minded people, and share everything from ideas to images.

Using other platforms helps to attract visitors to our own website, thereby raising awareness of both Alzheimer's Society and dementia. a facebook page

The video-sharing website YouTube has been particularly important for raising awareness during high-profile media campaigns, as it enables people to watch the films we produce. Video content is becoming one of the most powerful communication tools on the web. We now pull video content from YouTube onto our own website whenever we can for awareness-raising campaigns and fundraising opportunities.

Straight from the heart

Being able to see and hear people living with dementia talk about their lives and how they adjust to living with the condition is extremely valuable in achieving one of our goals - to reduce stigma. Listening to personal accounts not only gets people talking, but sparks interest to find out more about dementia.

This has been borne out by the surge in traffic we see on our website following documentaries by celebrities such as Sir Terry Pratchett, TV presenter and Society Ambassador Fiona Phillips, and businessman Gerry Robinson.

Facebook friends

Leading social networking site Facebook has also proved to be an effective vehicle in helping us provide support for both carers and people living with dementia. The Society's Facebook page (www.facebook.com/alzheimerssocietyuk) has attracted more than 6,000 'fans' - people who sign up to receive our updates and become members of our Facebook community.

Facebook functions as both a place for fundraisers to encourage donations and, more importantly, as somewhere for carers and people with dementia to go to for support at all hours of the day, not just from Alzheimer's Society, but from other users too.

It may come as a surprise that Alzheimer's Society's page appeals to so many Facebook users, but the perception that Facebook is just for teenagers and people in their twenties is now rather outdated. The social media site recently announced that the majority of its users is now people aged between 35 and 54, and that the 55 plus group has seen a 900 per cent increase in the last year.

Younger audiences

This means there are potentially millions of Facebook users who have been affected by dementia in some way. Although not all of them will want to get involved, increasingly these people are reaching out to each other, and to Alzheimer's Society, via Facebook.

Facebook is also helping us to reach a younger audience who may not be aware of dementia. Ken Clasper, an Alzheimer's Society Ambassador who has dementia with Lewy bodies, says, 'I'm amazed just how many people on the likes of Facebook talk about dementia. My son got me involved in it.

'Personally, I think it's younger people we need to get on board. There's a big audience out there who we have a chance of educating about dementia, and who are looking at getting it themselves. Whereas years ago it was a no-go subject, people are starting to learn about dementia now, but there's not much information out there for them to access.
If we want to reach a wider audience, we've got to use sites like this. They're the places of the future.'

Reaching out

Younger people, who are not as likely to have a direct experience of dementia, may still have the perception that Alzheimer's is a natural part of the ageing process. By reaching out using platforms they will be familiar with, such as Facebook and social messaging site Twitter, we can start to address that misconception.

Social media is for everyone and we intend to reach as many people as possible; whatever their age. The internet is, and will continue to be, a powerful tool for supporting people whose lives are blighted by dementia and all those around them who are affected.