Digital disability divide in information society

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to create a conceptual framework, based on a structured literature review, to analyze the digital disability divide and help find solutions for it. A digital disability divide exists between people with impairments and those without impairments. Multiple studies have shown that people without impairments are less likely to own a computer or have an Internet connection than are people with impairments. However, the digital disability divide is seen in relation not only to access but also to accessibility and use. For people with impairments, new technological innovations offer solutions for everyday challenges, such as finding information, communicating with others and using electronic services. Design/methodology/approach – For this study, 4,778 conference and journal publications were systematically analyzed. Findings – A number of key findings emerged. This field is relatively new, and the literature is highly focused on the technological and social aspects of the digital disability divide, with technology and societal attributes being the core sub-attributes for a comprehensive model. The previous literature did not significantly study the consequences of the financial situation of individuals; rather, the predominant focus was on the have-nots and countries with low income potentials. Furthermore, motivation reveals a compelling case within the digital disability divide subset. Originality/value – The review provides a consolidated view of past research on the general topic of the digital disability divide and the attributes that affect it.

Informationsrepertoires von Menschen mit Beeinträchtigungen

“…Ein Teil der digital divide-Forschung beschäftigt sich mit der Ungleichheitsdimension Behinderung, manche Forscher*innen sprechen auch von einem "digital disability divide" (Dobransky & Hargittai, 2006Sachdeva, Tuikka, Kimppa & Suomi, 2015). Auch van Dijk berücksichtigte in seiner digital divide-Forschung die Dimension, allerdings in recht allgemeiner Art und Weise (van Dijk, 2005).…”

Internet and People with Intellectual Disability: A Bibliometric Analysis

“…The appearance of information and communication technologies (ICT) allowed their use by people with disabilities as learning resources and to promote their personal autonomy [13]. However, barriers to access and the use of such devices by people with disabilities [14][15][16] soon became apparent, 2 of 15 these barriers being of a social, technological, financial or motivational nature [17]. These obstacles are manifested especially in the case of people with intellectual disabilities, mainly due to the difficulties of the cognitive accessibility of the operating systems and the available information [18,19].…”

“…The cheaper price and more widespread use of computers and smartphones favored Internet access for people with intellectual disabilities, although they still do so in a lower proportion than the rest of the population [17,19,21]. Access to the Internet by people with this type of disability has aroused a growing interest in researchers to find out how they use this resource [22][23][24], what benefits they obtain and what risks they are exposed to [25].…”

Technology and accessibility in global governance and human rights: the experience of disability rights advocates

“…Regional and global conferences, as well as their accompanying outcome documents require sustained activity and collaboration during pre-conference preparations and post-conference activities, which include implementation, monitoring and evaluation. For persons with disabilities, physical and electronic accessibility issues – specifically termed by some as the “digital disability divide” (Sachdeva et al , 2015) – can exacerbate this challenging climate and exclude individuals from actively participating in global policy formulation. To date, these issues remain under-researched.…”