Using Social Media and Technology for National HIV/AIDS and Aging Awareness Day

Senior online

If your grandmother were to ask you for your Twitter handle or your grandfather wanted to become your Facebook friend, how would you respond? If you posted or tweeted messages related to HIV or AIDS awareness, education or testing among older adults, would you be willing to share that information with your grandparents?

Beyond individual experiences with using social media across generations, it's useful to learn about technology and social media use among older Americans. 63% of all American adults, and 27% of all Americans ages 65 and older, are social networking site users. Use of social networking sites by older Americans has been steadily increasing in recent years. Did you know that AARP, the organization that helps people 50 and older, provides guidance on how to get started with social media? Technology and social media have an increasing place in health communication among and for older adults.

As the founder of National HIV/AIDS and Aging Awareness Day, The AIDS Institute encourages the use of social media to spread awareness about HIV/AIDS and aging among older adults and encourage participation in upcoming activities related to National HIV/AIDS and Aging Awareness Day, #NHAAAD, which is observed annually on September 18th.

Observing National HIV/AIDS and Aging Awareness Day with Social Media

The AIDS Institute's NHAAAD Social Media Guide provides detailed messages and tweets that users can copy and paste to post or retweet. Use #NHAAAD and #AIDSandAging so everyone can view your tweets or like NHAAAD on Facebook.

The AIDS Institute will provide assistance with marketing and promotion of your local, regional or national activities or events. To register, please visit 2014 NHAAAD Event Registration.

For more information on National HIV/AIDS and Aging Awareness Day or to access NHAAAD materials and resources, we encourage you to visit www.NHAAAD.org or NHAAAD on Facebook.

Help us spread this important information. Tell us below how you plan to use social media to spread awareness about NHAAAD or your efforts related to HIV/AIDS and Aging.

Editor's Note: For more information on HIV and aging, visit AIDS.gov and the Administration on Aging.

By Michelle Scavnicky, MS, Director of Education & Capacity Building, The AIDS Institute