Social Networking

This week, The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University released the National Survey of American Attitudes on Substance Abuse XVI: Teens and Parents. This year’s survey reveals that teens who regularly use social networking sites are at increased risk of smoking, drinking and using drugs. The survey finds that compared to teens who in a typical day do not spend any time on a social networking site, those who do are five times likelier to use tobacco, three times likelier to use alcohol, and twice as likely to use marijuana.

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.

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.

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.

Want to receive useful tools such as a Flip Cam to document footage of your coalition's work in the community, an iPod to stay up-to-date on prevention podcasts and to use as a video camera when you're out and about, a digital camera to take pictures of your coalition in action or books on social media to help your coalition?