Social+Networking+and+Blindness


 * Social Networking and Blindness **

Social networking is a technology for online users to connect with people, collaborate with people, and form virtual communities (Bumgardner & Knestis, 2011). Social networking is used by many people in many different careers and locations across the world. Benefits of this web 2.0 technology include meeting peoples’ emotional and cognitive needs, challenging people to express themselves to a large group of people, gain support for creativity and help with work or school related jobs, and building technology skills and understanding different points of view (Bumgardner & Knestis, 2011).

As easy as it sounds to use this technology and reap these benefits, people who are visually impaired or blind, have a hard time using social networking. One of the barriers for visually impaired people is the amount of time they wait for data to load on a social network site that they cannot even see and their screen reader does not read. For example, pictures of Facebook that may take a long time to load are wasting their time because they do not even know what is being loaded to the page (Guerreiro & Goncalves, 2013). Another barrier is that the consistency of the mobile application to the desktop application varies which can make it less accessible for people that are visually impaired (Guerreiro & Goncalves, 2013).

To help break these barriers for visually impaired people, there are applications and computer programs that can help them access social networking sites. Some of these applications are free for your cell phones and are known as screen readers (Guerreiro & Goncalves, 2013). Another application is called AudioBoo and it is used to create, share and listen to audio. Many isually impaired people have been using AudioBoo for their choice of their social network (AudioBoo, 2013).

Screen magnification programs are used to help blind or vision impaired read the computer screen but only work if the websites and computer program are properly designed. Web pages need to be built correctly, for example, images need to be described on the pages. Comments and links can also go undetected by screen readers or screen-magnification. So, the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) has teamed with Facebook to make it more accessible for the blind. (Making A Facebook Accessible for Everyone, 2015) Facebook has created a help center page with tips and tricks to assist the disability community in using their assistant technology with Facebook. Facebook has been adding tools to help assist in “viewing” photos which have taken over the social media networks. (Facebook's New Tools to Help..., 2015)

More and more research is going into creating tools and apps for the visually impaired and blind. Here are few I was able to find: Tap TapSee App, VoiceOver (built in screen reader for iPhones), Sendero LookAround (GPS), PenFriend Audio Labeler, Digit Eyes Audio Labeler App, and many more. Apple seems to be the front-runner in accessibility. (The Seeing iPhone..., 2015)

Benefits of social media is that it connects others together with a common problem or disability. InclusivePlantet.com is a place where blind and visually impaired can not only file share documents but can also communicate on various topics. This is extremely helpful in a world where just a bout everything is digital or electronic. This website has a built in screen reader to make file sharing possible. (Inclusive Planet, 2013) I-Mersee is another social networking site created for visually impaired and blind. It uses large type interface and built-in text-to-speech software. (I-MerSee, 2014)

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Resources:

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 * Bumgardner, S., & Knestis, K. (2011, May 1). Social Networking as a Tool for Student and Teacher Learning. //District Administration Magazine//. Retrieved December 4, 2013, from []
 * Guerreiro, J., & Goncalves, D. (2013, April 28). Blind People Interacting with Mobile Social Applications: Open Challenges. //Mobile Accessibility Workshop//. Retrieved December 3, 2013, from []
 * Social Network for Blind People. (2013). //Audioboo//. Retrieved December 4, 2013, from __ https://audioboo.fm/about/social_blind __
 * Making Facebook Accessible for Everyone." 2015. 11 Feb. 2016 [|__https://www.facebook.com/notes/facebook/making-facebook-accessible-for-everyone/71852922130/__]
 * "Facebook's new tools to help the blind navigate social media." 2015. 11 Feb. 2016< [|__http://phys.org/news/2015-12-facebook-tools-social-media.html__]
 * "The seeing iPhone is here with apps for the ... - Fortune." 2015. 11 Feb. 2016 [|__http://fortune.com/2015/06/25/apps-for-blind-community/__]
 * "Inclusive Planet: A Social Network for the Visually Impaired." 2013. 11 Feb. 2016 [|__http://www.dutiee.com/inclusive-planet-social-network-for-the-visually-impaired__]
 * "I-MerSee Accessible Social Networking Portal for the Blind." 2014. 11 Feb. 2016 [|__http://assistivetechnology.about.com/od/BVISC1/fl/iMersee-Accessible-Social-Networking-Portal-for-the-Blind.htm__]