DOC – What if it wasn’t there anymore :(

We live in the best of times

On the whole I am so glad that I live in the modern world as it is today. I would hate to have diabetes and not have the support of other diabetics. Think for a moment, if it wasn’t for the internet, how many other people with diabetes would you speak with on a daily basis? I know for me it would be exactly none!

Imagine if you wake up in the morning and you find that the internet is gone. Facebook, Twitter, forums, blogs, Messenger, e-mails, Instagram all gone.

For most people this may not seem like a problem. For me, as a diabetic, this would be about the worse possible thing to happen. I rely so much on social media and the diabetic online community (DOC). I get a massive amount from being active in the DOC. Not only information from others but the ability to help others who are struggling. It gives each one of us a voice and that is important.

Facebook

This is a great resource. There are many many groups and pages on here with a mountain of information.

Examples of some group subject matters I am active within:

  •  ➡ Type 1 London Meetups – by far the best group on the internet, I might by biased though
  •  ➡ GB diabetic online community – Amazing resource and on the whole a great bunch of people
  • Local diabetic groups – Good for meeting local peeps
  • Freestyle libre – Great for new users and experienced hands alike
  • Dexcom – Awesome bit of kit and some great groups too
  • Medtronic insulin pumps – My online go to for advice and tips
  • PWD walking groups – A great place for people with interests in common
  • Nightscout – One for the techies
  • TeamBG – Sporty types check this one out
  • Help we forgot T1 kit – Great if you run short on supplys away from home
  • The insulin gang – Only just found this one but with over 3,000 members it must be good
  • T1D support group – Great place to meet new diabuddies

I do find Facebook to be one of the worse platforms for the trolls to thrive. I will discuss them a bit later.

Twitter

This is a really good platform for help and support. By using the #GBdoc, you have at your fingertips a wealth of information from people who really know what they are doing. People just like you, diabetics. Nobody knows what diabetes is like better than a diabetic.

GBdoc
The GBdoc, great people

Every Wednesday we have a live tweet-chat from 9pm till 10pm. Each week has a different subject matter. Please do check it out, it really is the best hour of the week online for me. A gentle game of BG bingo is played at the end each week. This may seem silly but once you play it, you will be hooked. Some people are very competitive, mentioning no names.

Trolls on Twitter are generally ignored on the GBdoc, unless they are giving dangerous advice/opinions.

Forums

Online you can find a forum on more or less any subject matter, diabetes included.

The first forum I ever went to was ➡ Diabetes.co.uk. I joined that forum from my hospital bed whilst in with DKA on diagnosis. I am still an active member of the forum. It was this platform that gave birth to the London type 1 meetups group on Facebook, and we still post on here about the events we plan.

Great friendly place where trolls are kept at bay by tight admin of the website.

Instagram

This is a good resource for info on low carb diets and such like. I am not a huge user of Instagram but do use it occasionally.

Blogs

The internet is awash with blogs on just about every subject you can imagine.

Some of the better ones about diabetes are linked from my website. ➡ Other great blogs

Blogging is a really good way to express yourself and get information onto the web. Also a great resource for newly diagnosed people who want to learn more about life with diabetes.

Having said that there are some truly terrible blogs out there, for example………. no I mustn’t  😀  😀

Messenger, Whatsapp, e-mails

Not much to say really other than a great way to keep in touch with your newly found diabuddies

The trouble with giving everybody a voice

The only downside of the DOC and everybody having a voice is the trolls. You give everybody a voice and this unfortunately includes the idiots of this world.

Some people will be deliberately obtuse, hiding behind their keyboards, disagreeing with everybody. I affectionately call these people the ”Keyboard Warriors” or the ”Look at me” brigade.

Don't feed the trolls
Don’t feed the trolls

Doesn’t matter what the subject matter is they will know better. They will always try and steer a conversation off topic if they feel it is not relevant to them, a better option would be to stay quiet. Who knows if they tried this approach they might even learn something. Seen this so many times this year on the GBdoc tweet-chats. Makes me laugh when it happens, everybody just ignores the troll type comments and carry on with the tweet-chat!! That is the best way to deal with them, do not feed their childish ways, ignore them and carry on with the people who matter.

For now

Take care the DOC is always there

Type1Bri

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