Each day during the 2015 advent period, a group of people living with dementia (the dementiadiaries.org network) shared their own personal stories on Alzheimer’s Society’s ‘Dementia Friends’ social media channels.

http://dementiadiaries.org/tag/door-into-dementia

However, this was no ordinary social media campaign – the featured stories were all sent in using custom-built 3D printed reporting phones (as pictured here) by the Dementia Diarists. The simplicity of the phone’s design allows the reporters to send in audio reports directly to a digital hub, where the reports are then edited and shared on Facebook and Twitter. This process allows people with dementia – typically underrepresented in the digital sphere – to have their voices heard and their stories shared online.

The reports, recorded as the reporters go about their daily life, provide a unique and intimate insight into their world.

The reporters shared uplifting stories about living well with dementia – about their passion for art, music, running and campaigning, and how families, friends and communities have been drawn closer together post-diagnosis. They also reported on complications of social isolation, stigma and changing relationships with friends and family, and explore ‘homely’ themes about the individual and unexpected ways that dementia affects their day-to-day lives.