Social Media and the Autism Spectrum

There are studies and articles everywhere about the potential harm of social media, particularly to teens and children. It promotes isolation and can be harmful to mental health. This is all true, of course, but there is a flip side to this argument for those who struggle in a social setting.

In the article Social media offers benefits for autistic community | Autism Speaks, the author states ‘social media has opened up the world in a way face-to-face socialization never could.’ (Wayman, L. 2021). It’s an excellent account of the personal benefits of social media given that the author herself is on the autism spectrum. I have my own perspective after having raised a son on the spectrum.

Photo by me (Jen Maude)

Early Years

For someone on the spectrum, communication is difficult. They can have a lot of difficulty processing information and situations, identifying what they are feeling in a given moment, and translating that into words. As my son progressed through elementary school, this was a major issue for us. He couldn’t properly articulate his needs so we couldn’t help him identify, much less solve whatever the problem was. It was an incredibly challenging time.

His First iPhone

Around Grade 7, we gave him his first iPhone. The school was using technology more and more, so we helped him set up an email and a Twitter account. There was a platform called Edmodo that the school used which basically mimicked Facebook but in a controlled environment. He could only interact with his teacher and the members of his class. There were definitely some growing pains, but we watched as he started to discover his voice. Being able to take time to process and type a response instead of having to think quickly while speaking to someone face to face made a huge difference in his stress and comfort levels.

Taking Off

Finally, in high school, we helped him set up a Facebook and Instagram account. Over the years, he has deactivated and reactivated both accounts, depending on the situation. Of course, this also started the lessons on privacy and security on social media. Initially, he was happy to ‘friend’ everyone and anyone, regardless of whether he knew them directly or not. We had to have some frank discussions with him about the pitfalls of social media. We were very lucky that he was not exposed to any scams or bullying early on and that he’s taken those lessons to heart.

As he’s grown up, his focus has changed but now that he’s 22, he has settled into a Facebook comfort zone with many friends. He is comfortable posting things that he’s doing – hockey games, vacations, etc – and tagging friends and family. Having others comment on his posts makes him feel heard and part of a social network. The biggest change that I’ve seen is his interaction with others. He’ll comment on other people’s posts and ask questions about them. This is not something he would be comfortable doing in a face-to-face conversation. He’s able to keep in contact with some friends who also have developmental disabilities, so this medium gives them both the confidence to chat without the pressure that comes from in-person conversations. At the same time, it is helping him to develop those in-person conversation skills as well. This will be a challenge for him his whole life so anything that promotes that skill is beneficial.

Photo by me (Jen Maude)

Conclusion

There is no doubt that social media can be harmful and that there are many challenges associated with using it. For those of us that have a family member dealing with Autism Spectrum Disorder, the benefits can’t be denied. Communicating through social media gives the autistic person time to consider their words with no pressure and will then give them the confidence to interact with others more.

What do you think? Do you have any experience with someone with a disability using social media? Was it beneficial? Did they have any negative experiences?

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Social Media and Autism Spectrum Disorder – Helpful or Harmful? Check out my blog for my experience raising a son on the Spectrum and how social media helped him. https://bit.ly/48rZm4D

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Can social media give someone on the autism spectrum a voice? Check out my blog for more! #livingwithautism https://bit.ly/48rZm4D

The Dreaded Google Review…

So much of a small business’ success relies on word of mouth. Today, word of mouth is social media and on-line reviews. Before I started my business, I Googled countless things – hotels, tours, vacuum cleaners, hockey equipment…everything. And checking out the Google reviews of these items was an essential part of whatever research I was doing and whatever decision I made. Now that I’m a small business owner myself, these reviews have taken on a whole new meaning.

Photo Credit: Google.com

Show me the stars but give me some context!

The basis of the Google review is the star count, and everyone strives for the five-star review. It’s so easy to select the stars and move on though. Getting a five-star review is great but it’s the narrative that’s the crucial piece to get that important word of mouth spreading. This is what will draw new clients to your business. Hearing the actual interactions that people have with a particular business or product is what can be the difference in whether a potential client will choose you. We’ve gotten our share of five-star reviews since starting our travel advisor business and they have all come with some genuinely nice testimonials…except for one. Our clients gave us the 5 stars but nothing else – no description of their trip or any help that we gave them. Anyone reading that would likely skip right over our business and look for one with more detail.

Bad Reviews

Bad reviews come with the territory unfortunately. You can’t make everyone perfectly happy, no matter how much you strive to. Sometimes, the perfect plan goes off the rails or things break down or there is a miscommunication of some sort. How a business addresses a negative review is crucial to ensuring that its reputation isn’t damaged.

Fake Reviews

Photo credit: http://www.bridgemi.com/michigan-truth-squad/how-spot-fake-news

Like everything else on social media, the good comes with the bad. (I feel like I have said that in all my blogs and discussions!). Anyone can leave a Google review for any business. There is no way to verify whether a reviewer has used the service or product, which can make it exceedingly difficult to address. The Better Business Bureau confirms reviews with both customers and businesses that they have interacted and ensures that it is a legitimate review before posting. In the past, Google did nothing about this, though they are using algorithms to try and improve in this area. Our agency recently received a one-star review on Google, indicating that a customer had called on a Saturday and the agent was very rude and not at all helpful. The owner reached out to her immediately asking for more details and reached out to all the agents to ask whether anyone has spoken to her. No one had and the phone number that the client allegedly called belongs to the owner and she didn’t answer it. In other words, it was a fake review that remains on the business profile as a one-star review. At least her response to the fake review is also there for context.

Conclusion

The social media version of word of mouth is the on-line review, but this also comes with some pitfalls. Positive reviews will spread the word about your business. Negative reviews and your reaction to them can help improve your business practices. The problem comes from the potentially fake ones which you have to police yourself since Google does not.

Has this ever happened to you as a small business owner? What was your reaction? Did Google assist you in any way?

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Google reviews – The cornerstone of online word of mouth to grow your business but with some potential challenges? Check out my blog for my experience with the Google review! https://bit.ly/48kPMAC

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Nothing can hurt a business more than a bad on-line review but what if its not from a real customer? Check out my blog for more! #googlereview https://bit.ly/48kPMAC

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of being in a Facebook Group

I have been using Facebook for many years as a way of keeping in touch with friends and family scattered across the country.  Now that I’m embarking on my second career in the online travel industry, I’m venturing into social media marketing and networking.  As part of my training with my agency, it was suggested that I join several Facebook groups for professional collaboration and to share the joys and pitfalls of being a travel advisor.  I discovered quickly that these groups have quite a collection of characters.

Photo Credit: MGM Home Entertainment DVD Release Cover

The Good

Being a travel advisor is not an easy job.  For the most part, the few groups that I joined are full of supportive and helpful fellow agents.  They can be a good place to get firsthand information about a specific destination that I haven’t been to, any potential changes in policies for theme parks or cruises, etc.  Everyone is an expert in something different so it’s great to have these resources when you’re trying to plan vacations outside your area of expertise.  It’s also a good place to share some of the more funny or ridiculous requests you get – I want to take my family of four to Disney World for a week over March Break and only want to spend $5000 CAD total including airfare and tickets – and vent to people who get it!  Then you can go back to the client respectfully and explain that it’s not possible.

The Bad

There can be a lot of whining… I mean, a LOT of whining.  It’s nice to compare funny stories about clients as I mentioned above but the posts can sometimes descend into overwhelming negativity.  And there are so many members who claim to be experts in an area but then ask the most basic questions.  It really seems that they are trying to get someone else to do the work for them.  One of my favourite expressions from when I started out on social media was ‘Don’t feed the trolls’ and I think this would apply to any Facebook group.  There can also be an underlying level of competition.  The bulk of the members are with online agencies so clients can come from anywhere.  You can sometimes see posts that are subtly trying to undermine fellow agents which leads me to…

The Ugly

Outright backstabbing and trying to steal clients can be an issue.  Soliciting by offering better deals – Oh, your agent offered X, book with me and I can get you Y – which is never true.  It is a commission-based business so some group members can be ruthless when trying to attract clients.  The anonymity of social media has empowered some to act inappropriately with no repercussions.  This can be very discouraging if these members, despite being in the minority, overwhelm the group.  As long as the group admins are on top of it and remove these posts/members, then it’s simply an occasional annoyance. 

Conclusion

These are my own personal observations and experiences with the Facebook groups that I’ve joined (and left!).  Here are a couple of links to some pros and cons in general for Facebook groups so that you can decide for yourself if they’ll work for you.

Grow Your Business By Unlocking The Power Of Facebook Groups With These Five Strategies (forbes.com)

10 Major Disadvantages of Facebook Groups (2024) | Mighty Networks

Facebook groups can be an excellent resource on any topic but they can come with challenges.  Recognizing the challenges and not participating or over-reacting to posts is key.  Don’t feed the trolls and embrace ‘Serenity now’!

Photo Credit: Serenity now GIF – Seinfeld Memes

What do you think?  Have you joined a Facebook group that has worked out for you?  Or have you found it dysfunctional to the point that you had to leave the group?

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Facebook Groups – Great resources on any topic but are they worth the challenge? Check out my blog for my experience with some Facebook groups! https://bit.ly/47YfeeN

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Ever wonder about the pros and cons of Facebook Groups? I’ve joined (and left!) a few of them. Check out my blog for more! #Facebook https://bit.ly/47YfeeN

How a Social Media Influencer Helped Me Navigate the Pandemic

We were at the end of planning a land and cruise vacation to Hawaii with four other couples when everything ground to a halt in March 2020. Our philosophy has always been ‘When in doubt, take the trip’. This started when our kids were young. We wanted to give them some great experiences growing up and for them to see that there was a big world outside of our city block. So, we travelled…a lot! Every year we had road trips, flights to destinations, cruises, or sometimes all three. We had several trips in the planning stages when the lockdowns and border closures started and, with the age of our sons, they would likely have been our last family vacations for a while.

Our time during the pandemic was easy compared to others, but the sudden withdrawal of our globetrotting was a challenge. Like so many others, social media became our link to the outside world while we were locked down in the house. I had never really considered anything beyond Facebook and a little Instagram and this was mostly to keep in touch with friends across the country. Influencers were not something that I had any experience with, so with the encouragement of my teens, I ventured into Twitter (now X) and YouTube and a whole new world. 

Photo by me (Jen Maude)

Intro to Influencers

Influencers are everywhere now, and you can find them on any topic. To fill the specific need I had, I investigated the world of travel. And wow, I had no idea how many there would be! I settled on my favourite on YouTube – La Lido Loca – with a focus on cruising. 

La Lido Loca was started by a husband-and-wife team (Tony and Jenny) of cruising enthusiasts and provided a daily YouTube video titled Cruise News. They also have a group on Facebook (La Lido Loca Community) for their followers to join. During the pandemic, the La Lido Loca videos were amazing resources on updating the state of the cruising industry as it attempted its restart post-pandemic. Tony was an excellent resource with information on all aspects of the cruising industry restart and gave us something to look forward to as we looked to book our ‘revenge’ travel. While based in Florida, he provided news updates for the entire world, including updates on when the borders opened, testing requirements, health protocols, etc. When any followers would comment on the videos with specific questions, he attempted to answer any that he could. La Lido Loca was an amazing view of the world outside of Ottawa and provided the hope of better days to come. I followed him religiously and, as soon as the borders were open, armed with some of his tips and tricks, we were on our way!

Photo by me (Jen Maude)

Conclusion

For us, travelling is an essential part of our life. It provides a view outside our little world and makes us appreciate our home even more. When that was lost during the pandemic, it was a void that was not easily filled. Following travel influencers on social media, specifically La Lido Loca, helped us engage in our favourite pastime virtually and plan for future trips. 

What do you think? Was there a social media influencer that helped you through the pandemic or any other difficult time of your life? Do you still follow them today?

Source

La Lido Loca – YouTube

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Social Media Influencers – Where do they fit in and can they have a direct impact on you personally? Check out my blog for an example of an Influencer’s impact on me! http://bit.ly/49cuTbt

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Ever wonder about the impact of a Social Media Influencer? I did until the pandemic hit and I found one that suited me perfectly. Check out my blog for more! http://bit.ly/49cuTbt