The use of the Personal Home Page by adults with Down's syndrome as a tool for managing identity and friendship

Abstract

Summary There has been considerable debate regarding whether people with a learning disability should be encouraged to develop friendships with disabled or nondisabled people and what influence this might have on their sense of identity. It is also increasingly recognized that the Personal Home Page is a useful tool for making contact with potential friends and for managing identity. This paper explores the extent to which people with Down's syndrome are using Personal Home Pages to make and maintain friendships and, thus, say something about the self‐image they wish to portray. The Personal Home Pages of five Internet Service Providers were sampled and 16 Personal Home Pages of adults with Down's syndrome were found that referred in some way to friendships. A thematic analysis of these pages indicated that the authors could be attempting to present an image of themselves as someone who is capable of having friends. Analysis of the guest‐book messages also revealed that the readers of the Home Pages were responding to these attempts at initiating a relationship. Further work needs to be done to develop the sampling methodology in order to enable further exploration of what influences the publication of these Home Pages.

The use of social media and people with intellectual disability: A systematic review and thematic analysis

“…The main focal points of the 10 studies that were included were mobile telephone and internet usage and cyberbullying (Didden et al, 2009); use of blogs (McClimens & Gordon, 2008, 2009); online photo sharing (Kydland et al, 2012); use of a prototype symbol-based communication platform (Keskinen et al, 2012); use of "home pages" (Seale, 2001(Seale, , 2007Seale & Pockney, 2002), and use of popular social networking sites (Holmes & O'Loughlin, 2014;Löfgren-Mårtenson, 2008).…”

“…The methods used were questionnaires (Didden et al, 2009), case studies/vignettes (Holmes & O'Loughlin, 2014), interviews (Löfgren-Mårtenson, 2008), both interviews and questionnaires (Keskinen et al, 2012;Kydland et al, 2012), participant observation and field notes (McClimens & Gordon, 2008, 2009, and thematic analysis of existing online material (Seale, 2001(Seale, , 2007Seale & Pockney, 2002).…”

“…Participants had a range of communication, literacy, cognitive, and ICT skills. In the Seale (2001Seale ( , 2007 and Seale and Pockney (2002) papers, participants were referred to as having Down syndrome, but in all other papers, participants had a label of intellectual disability/learning disabilities. The reported degree of disability is detailed in Table 1.…”

“…Didden et al's (2009) participants were aged 12-19, Holmes and O'Loughlin's (2014) were aged 25-30, Keskinen et al's (2012) were aged 14-37, and Löfgren-Mårtenson's (2008) were aged 18-31. Seale (2001Seale ( , 2007 and Seale and Pockney's (2002) participants were an average age of 18.…”

How does risk mediate the ability of adolescents and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities to live a normal life by using the Internet?

“…This is a field that the authors have spent the past fifteen years researching. The first author was one of the first researchers to explore whether and how the Internet enabled people with IDD to express their sense of identity and belonging (Seale, 2001;Seale & Pockney, 2002). This work led her to examine the role that parents and carers play in facilitating Internet use and the extent to which their perceptions regarding risk and potential present barriers to both access and use of the Internet (Seale, 2014).…”