Digital Exclusion: Understanding and Mitigating Disabling Barriers in Technology Design

Why It Matters

As digital technologies become increasingly integrated into daily life, it is crucial for designers and engineers to proactively identify and address potential exclusionary aspects. Failing to do so risks marginalizing a significant portion of the population and perpetuating societal inequalities.

Key Finding

The study found that digital technologies, even those operating behind the scenes, can create significant obstacles for disabled people in their daily lives, leading to social exclusion and widening the digital divide.

Key Findings

• Digital technologies, even those with back-end digital components like the Internet of Things, can construct disabling barriers in mundane contexts.
• The rapid growth of digital technologies can exacerbate the digital divide for disabled people, leading to increased social exclusion.
• A deeper understanding of disabling barriers in a digital society is critical for improving participation.

Research Evidence

Aim: How do the everyday experiences of disabled individuals with digital technologies reveal disabling barriers that contribute to social exclusion?

Method: Qualitative research combining empirical observation, photography, and interviews.

Procedure: Researchers conducted empirical observations, took photographs, and interviewed adults with various disabilities in Sweden to understand their daily interactions with digital technologies and the resulting social exclusion.

Context: Everyday use of digital technologies and their impact on social inclusion for disabled individuals.

Design Principle

Design for inclusion by understanding and addressing the diverse needs and potential barriers faced by all user groups.

How to Apply

Before launching a new digital product or service, conduct user research specifically with individuals with various disabilities to identify and rectify any exclusionary design elements.

Limitations

The study was conducted in Sweden, and findings may not be universally generalizable without further research in different cultural and technological contexts. The specific types of disabilities and digital technologies examined may also limit the scope of the findings.

Student Guide (IB Design Technology)

Simple Explanation: When you design digital things like apps or websites, you need to think about people with disabilities. If you don't, you might accidentally make it hard for them to use, which can make them feel left out.

Why This Matters: This research highlights that technology isn't always helpful for everyone. Understanding these 'disabling barriers' is key to creating designs that are truly accessible and inclusive, which is a core goal in many design projects.

Critical Thinking: How can designers proactively anticipate and address 'disabling barriers' in digital technologies, especially those that are not immediately apparent or are part of complex systems like the Internet of Things?

IA-Ready Paragraph: This research underscores the critical need for user-centred design practices that actively address potential disabling barriers. As Egard and Hansson (2021) highlight, the rapid integration of digital technologies can inadvertently create social exclusion for disabled individuals. Therefore, a comprehensive design process must include thorough user research with diverse populations to identify and mitigate these barriers, ensuring that technological advancements promote inclusion rather than exclusion.

Project Tips

• When researching user needs, actively seek out and include participants with disabilities.
• Consider how your design might create barriers for users with different abilities, even if it's not immediately obvious.

How to Use in IA

• Use this research to justify the importance of user research with diverse groups in your project's methodology section.
• Cite this study when discussing the potential for technology to create exclusion and the need for inclusive design.

Examiner Tips

• Demonstrate an awareness of accessibility and inclusivity beyond basic compliance.
• Show how you have actively sought to understand and mitigate potential barriers for marginalized user groups.

Independent Variable: Integration of digital technologies into everyday practices.

Dependent Variable: Social exclusion experienced by disabled individuals.

Controlled Variables: Theoretical frameworks from digital social science, digital humanities, and disability studies.

Strengths

• Integrates insights from multiple disciplines (digital technology and disability studies).
• Focuses on the everyday, lived experiences of disabled individuals.

Critical Questions

• What are the ethical considerations when designing technologies that could potentially exclude users?
• How can design education better prepare future designers to address the complexities of digital inclusion?

Extended Essay Application

• Investigate the impact of a specific emerging technology (e.g., AI-powered assistants, VR environments) on the social inclusion of a particular group with disabilities.
• Develop and test design guidelines for creating more inclusive digital interfaces for users with cognitive impairments.

Source

The digital society comes sneaking in. An emerging field and its disabling barriers · Disability & Society · 2021 · 10.1080/09687599.2021.1960275