Use of social network to support visually impaired people: A Facebook case study

Abstract

The use of Information and Communication Technologies can be seen as an important factor for social inclusion in its different aspects -economic, social, relational and informational, among others. Inclusion potentiality is even more relevant for groups of people who face limiting life conditions which determine social barriers. This study investigated the social support offered to people with disabilities based on the social network analysis method. The research objective was to make the online support dynamics for low vision people, friends and relatives evident, having as case study the Facebook Low Vision group. The social network modelling and quantitative analysis were performed from user data collection, posts, comments and likes. Contents were classified according to the type of support (Emotional or Instrumental) and according to its intention (Offered or Requested), represented in graphs as indicators for analysis. Results pointed towards a larger use rate of Instrumental and Offered support although a more intense and comprehensive exchange of Emotional and Requested support was found. Data collection limitations indicate the need for more empirical studies on the social use of socio-technical networks for different types of social support. This theme points to a research agenda about the role of information and communication technologies as a possible condition for inclusion, life quality and well-being of people with disabilities.Keyword: Social network analysis. Low vision. Visually impaired. Facebook. Social media. Social support. Resumo O uso das Tecnologias de Informação e Comunicação pode ser visto como um importante fator para a inclusão social em seus diferentes aspectos -econômicos, sociais, relacionais e informacionais, entre outros. A potencialidade de inclusão é ainda mais relevante para grupos de pessoas que enfrentam condições de vida limitadoras, determinando barreiras sociais. Este trabalho investigou o suporte social oferecido a Pessoas com Deficiência a partir do método de análise de redes sociais. O objetivo foi evidenciar a dinâmica do suporte online para pessoas com baixa visão, amigos e familiares, tomando como estudo de caso o grupo Low Vision do Facebook. A modelagem e a análise quantitativa da rede social foram realizadas a partir do levantamento dos dados sobre os usuários, publicações, comentários e curtidas. Os conteúdos foram classificados quanto ao tipo de suporte (Emocional ou

Access to library services and facilities by persons with disability: Insights from academic libraries in Ghana

“…Therefore, librarians should be trained on how to relate to PWDs. For example, studies have shown that visually impaired people use a more interpersonal medium when seeking information (Caran et al, 2016; Wang and Yu, 2017). It is therefore important that librarians be given periodic training on how best to serve this category of users.…”

Understanding public interest and needs in health policies through the application of social network analysis on a governmental Facebook fan page

“…Nowadays, there were many social network research use NodeXL to explore the relationship between users [7][8][9][10][11][12][13]. Nevertheless, this is the first study exploring how government officials use the Facebook fan page to promote policies and analyze the interaction between agencies and people by using a social network analysis.…”

Facebook usage and quality of life of individuals with visual impairments

“…When they do participate, they share common experiences, societal concerns, and information about disability issues as well as policies that concern them (Stetten et al, 2019). In a case study, the majority of members in a Facebook group for people with visual impairment were found not to actively participate in it by posting (Caran et al, 2016). However, it was suggested that members may have been expressing their emotional support to each other by liking posts (Caran et al, 2016).…”