Social Media

College students who post references to getting drunk, blacking out, or other aspects of dangerous drinking on social networking sites are more likely to have clinically significant alcohol problems than students who do not post such references, according to a study supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

For many working in the field of substance abuse prevention, the concept of social media can seem like foreign territory. However, as online social interaction extends into all facets of everyday communication, its use becomes more vital to successful coalition communication strategies. Jason Verhoosky, Youth Program Coordinator for the DanversCARES coalition of Danvers, Mass., works extensively with social media in his community and on a national stage with CADCA’s National Coalition Institute to help coalitions integrate these new tools into their work.

The ease and relatively low cost of virtual interaction through social media allows people the opportunity to navigate and communicate with each other beyond the traditional boundaries of face-to-face communication. Connected Communities, CADCA's peer-to-peer social network, provides coalitions with a valuable tool to reach out to different sectors of the community and collaborate with peers.

Connected Communities, a peer-to-peer social network hosted by CADCA's National Coalition Institute, helps coalition members share best practices and strategies with one another to increase their effectiveness in their communities. With the recent announcement that the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) Community Prevention Listserv will end on March 18, CADCA encourages coalition leaders to continue the conversation through Connected Communities.

Is your coalition looking for new ways to incorporate social media strategies into its communication plan? Are you having trouble identifying the importance of tweets, tags and texts? If so, CADCA's National Coalition Institute is proud to help you navigate the digital divide through its new web-based primer, "Social Media For Coalitions."

Social interaction and strong communication plans allow coalitions to effectively develop relationships with their communities and important stakeholders. In order to keep pace with the flow of modern communication and information-sharing channels, the use of social media has become a valuable way for coalitions to engage community members and foster discussion. CADCA's National Coalition Institute will help coalitions integrate social media strategies into their work through a variety of workshops at CADCA's National Leadership Forum, held Feb. 7-10 at National Harbor, Md.

How do you engage your audience(s), create conversations and share information when you can't meet face-to-face? Social media make it easier than ever. And a new tool is helping conference planners engage audience(s) BEFORE in-person sessions start and continue conversations after the workshops are finished.

Peg Sallade (DanversCARES Prevention Coalition), Laura Hillier (Northeast Center for Healthy Communities) and Dave Thomson (Thomson Communications) will present a workshop "Social Marketing Soup to Nuts: The Story Behind the Campaign” at CADCA's 21st annual National Leadership Forum.

The Associated Press reports that teens who text 120 times a day or more are more likely to have had sex or use alcohol and drugs than kids who don't send as many messages, according to new research by Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland, Ohio.

As the social media explosion of recent years continues to grow and affect the way people connect with each other, the use of networking sites becomes increasingly important in coalition communication strategies. While sites such as Facebook and Twitter remain some of the larger playing fields in the game, it's important to also find venues where they can look for more focused feedback from other coalitions to improve their effectiveness in their communities. CADCA's social network, Connected Communities, offers coalitions a venue in which they can take advantage of the opportunity to connect, communicate, and collaborate with others in the substance abuse field.

Pro-tobacco videos have a significant presence on YouTube, a study published in the journal Tobacco Control found.