The world has indeed changed over the past few decades. In the past, we would only connect with our immediate family, neighbors, and friends. Today, we can share our lives with what feels like the entire world! Technology is indeed fantastic. There are multiple social media platforms, websites, groups, forums, and communities that bring us together in multiple ways. Although all of these spaces exist, in general there is still a lack that needs some change. There aren't a lot of resources and information about psoriasis in the black community. It is one of the main reasons I even started my own Facebook support group Sistas with Psoriasis.

In general, many people of color living with psoriasis often go misdiagnosed or undiagnosed. If you're like me, growing up I didn't even know the official name of my condition. I believe that the benefit of technology today and social media is that we can bring more visibility to psoriasis in the black community. The goal in mind would be for the more opportunities for resources, education and relatable connections with others.

Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest

When I first began searching for others with psoriasis on social media, I went to Instagram and Meta (formerly known as Facebook). This is where I found my connections. Typing in the search engines black women with psoriasis can help you find different pages and information from larger organizations.  By doing this, whenever I would see content from anyone related, I immediately followed or sent a friend request. Instagram and Facebook offered a personal feeling in moments when it can get lonely.  Joining general psoriasis groups, and later creating my own made these connections even stronger. This is powerful because of visibility but the humanness behind the stories and posts.

Pinterest is incredible. Often people forget it is a social media platform. Pinterest has so much information in the form of blogs, and pins that bring you directly to the resources you are searching for. A search of pins related to people of color with psoriasis is a good start. There's also opportunity to build a community of those following your pins from what you share. From Pinterest, I have even been able to grow my private Facebook group. You never realize how one search can change how you view things. You can go from feeling alone to realizing there are hundreds of others out there that can relate to you. It really can help with your healing journey.

Facebook communities

Joining several psoriasis Facebook groups definitely has helped with my personal visibility as a person of color with psoriasis. Even though I am the minority in the group, I have been able to connect with other people of color. When you see other people of color engaging in topics, you're often drawn to either friend or follow them.  I truly feel that the community groups on social media are incredibly powerful. Almost daily there is someone asking a question or looking for recommendations. I even found my current dermatologist after asking in a group for recommendations. The groups bring visibility to those who may even want to remain private. Not everyone is comfortable with their psoriasis and prefer to be anonymous. Private social media groups create a sense of safety amongst members who may be less vulnerable otherwise.

Visibility and participation whether in a forum, a direct message, or even live stream from another person of color really does bring a sense of belonging. Having communities where we can see ourselves especially on social media brings the attention needed to the issues like lack of education and resources made available to us.

Your engagement makes a difference

With social media we know that the platforms and algorithms cater to what keeps users engaged. People may not realize your own engagement can have a positive influence on what shows up on feeds. Just through searches, shares, and engagement on posts related to people of color with psoriasis we can make a difference. We push the needle to more visibility and light shed on psoriasis in our community. There's so much power in just the engagement alone. It pushes through more of what we are searching for and amplifies our voices.

If we can use social media as a way to connect and create more opportunities for people of color to be seen it could positively impact so many areas. We may possibly have more advocates come from it, more participation in clinical trials, more people getting access to resources and some finally finding the right providers to properly diagnose them. If used well it can make a world of difference.  Are you a person of color living with psoriasis? What are your thoughts on social media and visibility of people of color living with psoriatic disease?