Digital Literacy Project

Hi my name is Liv Borski and I am a freshman nursing major here at JMU. I am from Trumbull, Connecticut and was an all-state volleyball player. This subject really jumped out at me is because I am currently suffering from a rare blood disease that I was diagnosed with over the summer. Not only was I unaware of the severity of my condition, my doctors were as well. Even though it is uncommon I felt as if there should have been a way for me to learn and or help prepare for what is to come with my disease.

How can social media help bring awareness to illnesses like cancer?

Throughout the semester we learned about digital literacy and different methods of using it. One of the ways that really stood out to me was the social media aspect of it. When my step sister Rachel was diagnosed with Ewings Sarcoma at the age of 12, the only thing she had to keep her occupied in the hospital is social media. Ewings Sarcoma is a very rare cancer and is not well known among the population. To give a brief definition of it, Ewings Sarcoma is a cancer of the bones. At first for Rachel it started off as pains in her leg. Assuming that it was growing pains, it was put off and ignored. The pain did not go away until an MRI was ordered and growing pains was misdiagnosed and turned into a diagnosis of cancer.

Throughout this process we decided to make a social media account through Facebook and Instagram to keep everyone updated. Not even two weeks passed by and Rachel was all over the map. People from all over the country were offering to pray for her and follow along with her story. Even though Rachel was growing weaker everyday due to the chemotherapy and radiation, her followers and supporters gave her strength to keep fighting strong. Because of social media, Rachel was able to spread awareness of her certain type of cancer and help people going through the same problem feel as if they are not alone.

Caring Bridge was one of the main websites we used to share Rachel’s story and have people donate towards her cause. It provides a step by step story of what happened throughout her battle. It also has a gallery section if you wish to post photos. Her page was constantly flooded with comments and prayers and is still up today.

Growing up, when Facebook was created, you had to be 18 in order for you to create an account. It was mainly made for college kids on campus to communicate with each other and find each other in such a large pool. Since you legally had to be an adult, mainly adults joined Facebook in order to share with their friends their pictures. But today, the age limit was taken off and kids of all ages were able to join. “Facebook is currently the most popular SNS in the world, attracting more than 1.15 billion active monthly users” (Facebook, 2013) (Abramson 237). Which makes Facebook a popular social media outlet to share this information and awareness during BCAM. In the article that was analyzed one facebook page stood out the post about BCAM. Abramson analyzed the facebook page and came up with 5 important themes about each wall post:

Open Mic Night: People used Facebook as an open space for self expression during Breast Cancer Awareness month, they used the social media platform to channel and share their thoughts.

Promoting Awareness with Scarce Health Information: They only expressed their goals of promoting screening and spreading awareness without actually sharing specific health information.

Commodification of Breast Cancer: This implies that you have to purchase something in order to express your support for cancer. For example, buying pink t-shirts with the pink ribbon on them to show your support for the cause.

Unpredictable Location and Evolution of the Conversation: Conversations allows allude in the comments section of the post but do not allows attain to the subject matter of the post and stir off topic.

Gendered Image and Language: In almost all of the wall posts, there is a sense of feminism. Although rare, men can also come down with breast cancer but the support group for breast cancer is geared towards women.

These themes helped show how social media has positive effects on spreading awareness of cancer through the social media site Facebook.

When asked about a social media site that people use on a daily basis, Twitter comes to mind. Today, Twitter is used not only used to share with your followers the events that occurred during your day, it is also used to share about current events and local news. You can find out weather forecasts, political events, etc. Twitter is used to share information to a large focused group about specific topics. “One of the biggest factors that allow Twitter to be an effective health communication tool is its ability to deliver information to a large group of audiences, enabling organizations to reach target audiences with efficiency (Park, 2013)” (Diddi 243). When examining different tweets about BCAM, Jeong Yeob Han ended up discovering that the users with a greater amount of followers had a greater influence. On top of that, the tweet with the higher level of emotion with more of a basic/easy to read message was more likely to be retweeted or shared than a tweet that was more disconnected and wordy.

Another factor which allows tweets about BCAM to get noticed is when celebrities tweet.One example is Angelina Jolie. She tweeted out to her fans about her struggle with breast cancer and how she got through it. Everyone followed her and supported her through every step of the way. Angelina Jolie was able to reach out to other cancer survivors and cancer fighters to show how they are not alone in this long battle. When she was interviewed by the New York Times she stated that, “A woman at genetic risk should feel empowered to remove both breasts as a way to prevent the disease” (Grady n.p.). To a women, breasts are the epitome of femininity and that without them we would feel embarrassed or less feminine. But Angelina uses her power of fame to show women that there is nothing to be ashamed of. The different tweets about BCAM helps raise awareness and spirits for people battling breast cancer every day.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month is dedicated to the month of October and is known all around the world. A couple facts about breast cancer, according to Thackeray, in 2013 alone 40,000 women die from breast cancer each year. As well as on average, every 2 minutes a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer and 1 woman will die of breast cancer every 13 minutes. An average person would know these facts due to the fact that in the month of October, this information is plastered all over the walls of Facebook walls, Instagram feed, Twitter pages, etc.. For 25-year-old Cessiley Haderlie on the other hand, social media was more than just about spreading awareness, it was a saving grace for her. Using the hashtag #HodgkinsLymphoma she was able to, “ quickly make connections with several young women by commenting on each other’s photos and sharing advice”(Holm n.p.). Breast cancer awareness is spread all throughout social media during this month. Spreading useful information on how to get yourself checked for cancer as well as how to do it yourself at home. The two of the main sources used to spread this information is Facebook and Twitter.

Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms help bring awareness to illnesses such as cancer. The use of these social media outlets help bring people closer together and fight for the same cause. Cancer, has been a big part in my life. My grandfather passed away from skin cancer, my step sister had Ewings Sarcoma, my grandmother had breast cancer, and my other grandmother passed away from brain cancer. Without the use of social media, I would feel alone in this world thinking that no one else knows what I am going through. But, because of the millions of tweets and posts I know that I am not alone. People from all over the world spread information about how to help prevent and fight certain cancers, which helps me in the long run to help myself and help provide a strong support group for my family members in need.

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