A dementia illness doesn't just affect cognitive performance or the ability to manage daily life. It can also impact one's identity, characterized by changes in professional, familial, and social roles. These personality changes often harbor anxieties and uncertainties about the future, particularly since dementia remains stigmatized.
Modern digital tools, such as social media platforms, offer promising opportunities for expressing one's identity. Researchers from Bournemouth University in the UK have now investigated through interviews how people with dementia use social media to express their identity and cope with the illness.
The scientists were able to identify four thematic areas that show how social media platforms offer opportunities for self-presentation, visibility, and association. This allows users to maintain their self-confidence, question stereotypes, and foster connections with the community.
Some people with dementia use social media, for example, to share their diagnosis and try to convey a nuanced picture of dementia that includes both positive and negative aspects. Social media also allowed people with dementia to maintain aspects of their identity, fostering a sense of continuity between their selves before and after diagnosis. By using social media, people with dementia could express aspects of their personality that went beyond their dementia diagnosis, thus developing a more holistic and multifaceted sense of self. Overall, social media offered opportunities for self-expression, visibility, and belonging.
„Social media is much more than just a pastime for people with dementia. – you can help to cope better with your own illness and create visibility.“
Anne Keefer, digiDEM Bavaria-Sciencerhin
Ten people participated in the study, including three women and seven men aged between 51 and 72 years. The participants came from the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, Canada, and Australia.
„Through the opportunity for self-expression, visibility, and networking, social media can support people with dementia in maintaining their self-esteem, combating prejudice, and connecting with others affected by the condition,“ conclude the researchers.
Although there were concerns about self-disclosure on the internet, sharing experiences with dementia also had therapeutic benefits, aiding acceptance and adaptation. Given the increasing prevalence of social media use among individuals with dementia, the researchers call for proactive measures from health professionals, policymakers, technology developers, and caregivers to foster online experiences that are safe, supportive, and inclusive for people with dementia.
Tip for practice: Social media offer opportunities for self-disclosure and connecting with others who are affected. Explore the benefits and risks of social media; perhaps they can help in managing the illness.
Click here to access the study summary:
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digiDEM Bayern develops digital offerings for people with cognitive impairments and dementia, as well as for caregivers and volunteer helpers, and offers the services on digiDEM-Bayern.de available.
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The „digiDEM Bavaria Prevention Coach®“is a digital offering that we would like to recommend to you. What risk factors promote dementia? Why are risk factors such as declining hearing and vision, low education, depression, social isolation, or physical inactivity associated with the probability of developing dementia? What can you do preventatively for your cognitive health? With our digital prevention coach®, we want to encourage you to learn about your own dementia risk factors in just a few steps. Find out how to keep your brain actively fit in everyday life and learn about the possibilities for reducing your dementia risk. Here you can find our online offering „digiDEM Bayern Prevention Coach."®“
Anyone who strengthens their health literacy benefits in many ways. Educating oneself on health topics, evaluating reliable information, and applying it in daily life means taking a decisive step towards better health self-care. Furthermore, with acquired knowledge, health and illness problems can be managed more successfully. Take the opportunity to expand your knowledge on the topic of Alzheimer's dementia. Here's our online offer „Knowledge Test Alzheimer's Dementia“
Also use our digital questionnaire „digiDEM Bayern DEMAND®“ and recommend it. It helps caregivers and relatives to recognize their own care needs when the care needs of people with dementia increase. Here you can access the „digiDEM Bayern DEMAND®“ questionnaire“
