Social networking site accessibility.

What Are Social Networking Sites?

Social networking sites (SNSs) have become a widely adopted form of communication and social connection. The Pew Research Center, in a 2018 study, found that 69% of people are currently using SNSs [1], with the two most widely used systems being Facebook and YouTube [2], [3].

SNSs are used for a variety of reasons, including social interaction, information seeking, and passing time [4]. Moreover, the ability to network with people both locally and around the world allows users to establish professional networks and connect with potential employers [5].

How SNSs Treat People With Disabilities

While SNS are broadly used, for users who are blind or visually impaired using social networking sites can be a challenging experience [6].

Because SNS are designed to be largely visual, [7], the technology and content of these systems simply does not support how disabled users utilize the internet in many instances [8]. Furthermore, screen readers and other forms of assistive technology are difficult to use when SNSs are not properly designed to support them [9]. This is why social networks for blind or visually imapired are not usable and need to change.

Therefore, it is essential to place a greater emphasis on making SNSs accessible for visually impaired users who some studies suggest have smaller real-world networks.

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References

1. P. Hitlin, “Use of internet, social media, digital devices plateau in US,” Pew Research Center, Sep. 28, 2018. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/09/28/internet-social-media-use-and-device-ownership-in-u-s-have-plateaued-after-years-of-growth/ (accessed Feb. 19, 2020).
2. A. Perrin, “65% of adults now use social networking sites – a nearly tenfold jump in the past decade,” p. 12, 2015.
3. A. Perrin and M. Anderson, “Share of U.S. adults using social media, including Facebook, is mostly unchanged since 2018,” Pew Research Center, Apr. 10, 2019. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/04/10/share-of-u-s-adults-using-social-media-including-facebook-is-mostly-unchanged-since-2018/ (accessed Feb. 19, 2020).
4. A. Whiting and D. Williams, “Why people use social media: a uses and gratifications approach,” Qual. Mark. Res. Int. J., vol. 16, no. 4, pp. 362–369, Jan. 2013, doi: 10.1108/QMR-06-2013-0041.
5. I. Nikolaou, “Social Networking Web Sites in Job Search and Employee Recruitment,” Int. J. Sel. Assess., vol. 22, no. 2, pp. 179–189, 2014, doi: 10.1111/ijsa.12067.
6. J. Brinkley and N. Tabrizi, “A Desktop Usability Evaluation of the Facebook Mobile Interface using the JAWS Screen Reader with Blind Users,” Proc. Hum. Factors Ergon. Soc. Annu. Meet., vol. 61, no. 1, pp. 828–832, Sep. 2017, doi: 10.1177/1541931213601699.
7. R. Borrino, M. Furini, and M. Roccetti, “Augmenting social media accessibility,” in Proceedings of the 2009 International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibililty (W4A), Madrid, Spain, Apr. 2009, pp. 54–57. doi: 10.1145/1535654.1535666.
8. D. Leahy and U. Ó. Broin, “Social Networking Sites and Equal Opportunity: The Impact of Accessibility,” p. 16, 2009.
9. K. Pakdeechote and P. Tandayya, “A new web interface for the visually impaired to access Facebook,” in Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Rehabilitation Engineering & Assistive Technology, Tampines, Singapore, Jul. 2012, pp. 1–4.