It’s 2009 and technology and social media are around every corner. As we read the news and talk to our friends, it seems as though everyone is sending email, checking Facebook, watching videos on YouTube and even blogging.
Well, not everyone.
While the majority of Canadians (a whopping 70%) are using Facebook, and 58% of Canadians are blogging, many of our citizens are still not online, never mind using the latest and greatest social media tools.
Age is one factor. The “it girl” of social media right now is a micro-blogging application called Twitter. You can use your Twitter account to send short (140 character) messages out to your network of followers (the people who want to see where you are, what you’re doing, and what you’re thinking about). While 63% of 19-25 year olds are Twittering, only 10% of those over the age of 61 are using the site.
Income also plays a big role in technology usage, but perhaps the least talked about factor is disability. Surveys consistently report that people with disabilities have only half the rate of Internet access of people without a disability. Increasingly not being online means not being able to register for courses, sign up for community center activities, do your banking, or even find information on government programs.
And now, with the proliferation of social media sites like Facebook, MySpace and YouTube, people with disabilities are also less likely to be able to grow the online social networks that are part of what it means to belong, in today’s technology-infused culture.
While we might imagine that belonging to online social networking sites is really just a pastime or extra curricular activity, in fact being able to contribute to online social networks is one of the most significant ways in which people can feel that they are part of their community.
And it’s about more than citizenship and contribution. Belonging to a social network has real benefits, including better health, education and employment outcomes. A recent study suggests that the health benefits of social networks outweigh those of quitting smoking! When we are supported by our friends and families we are more likely to take our medications, exercise, and do all the things that lead to better health outcomes. We also know that people with good social networks tend to make better decisions and are more likely to pursue education and employment opportunities.
This is why the team at PLAN Institute created Tyze. We wanted to take everything that we know about real world personal networks, and use that knowledge and experience to create an online solution that could help to create connections for people who are vulnerable to isolation.
For 20 years PLAN Institute has been creating personal networks for people with disabilities. We’ve seen the power and potential of personal networks to create good lives, and now we’re using the web to extend our learning to as many people as possible.
Tyze is an online social networking tool that provides disability-serving organizations with both the technology and support required to effectively place a person who is vulnerable to being isolated, at the centre of a caring social network of family, friends and caregivers. By working with private health care providers, government departments, health authorities, and corporations, Tyze can provide thousands of people with access to a transformative model of networking that focuses on contribution and ability rather than needs and disability.
We’re thrilled to now be delivering Tyze’s secure, personal, online networks to forward-thinking organizations who want to use Tyze to collaborate and stay in touch with the people they serve and the friends and families that support them.
One of the first organizations to purchase Tyze was BACI (the Burnaby Association for Community Inclusion), an organization that has dedicated over 50 years to providing innovative supports and services to children, youth and adults with developmental disabilities and their families. BACI continues to seek out opportunities to increase the social and economic inclusion of individuals with disabilities, and support them in becoming fully participating members of the community.
When we first spoke to the team at BACI, they were excited about being able to offer the individuals they serve the opportunity to build secure, personal online networks of support. They recognize that working with individuals to build these connections and support is a key to helping them build a good life. Richard Faucher, BACI’s Executive Director, says, “BACI is excited about being able to provide all of the individuals we support with their own Tyze networks. We hope that Tyze will help us merge the formal care that we provide with the equally important informal aspects of an individual’s life — social networking and relationship building.”
Moving forward the team at Tyze and PLAN Institute are looking forward to working with the many organizations who interface with people who are disabled, elderly, or facing other life challenges, and who want to provide those people with all the advantages of a personal support network.
Working together we can help to ensure that people with disabilities achieve the positive health, employment and education outcomes that we know come as a result of strong social networks.
No obligation 30-day trials of Tyze are now available
Click here to start your trial now.
