3 Reasons Why Digital Literacy is Important for People with Disabilities
In the modern day, understanding technology is critical for participation in everyday life. However, people with disabilities are often left behind because of something called the digital divide.
While the Digital Divide isn't just about people with disabilities, it is brutally evident in that community. According to the Pew Research Center, people with disabilities are 3 times more likely to never use the internet than someone without a disability.
The Arc believes that digital literacy is a critical step to equality for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. That is why The Arc has partnered with AT&T to help provide digital literacy training to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The Arc of Bartholomew County has received grant funding along with The Arc of Jackson County to provide digital literacy training in our local communities.
Learn more about that here: Arc Press Release: Digital Literacy Training
Why is Digital Literacy So Important for People With Disabilities
So, The Arc is working to combat the digital divide for people with disabilities in our community. However, for real change to be made, we must understand why these problems are so important to solve.
Here are 3 reasons why digital literacy for people with disabilities is important.
1. It Enhances Communication
There are a plethora of digital & online tools that create accessible communication options that are useful for people with disabilities.
Think about all the times you have used email, texting, video calls, and more. These are incredible technologies that allow for communication in ways that were outright impossible before.
As much as we all like being face-to-face, that is not always possible and access to these tools can create important avenues of communication for people with IDD that might not otherwise exist.
2. Access to Information
When was the last time you Googled something?
I'm going to guess that it was just the other day. Google is pretty much a 1-stop-shop for any time that you have a question about something.
Now, imagine you didn't have access to that.
You could always go to the public library, if you have access to transportation... However, in a lot of cases, you just won't receive an answer.
This is hardly a disability-specific problem, but when you start to overlay some of the additional, compounding problems that many people with IDD face, like transportation, you begin to see the grim picture being portrayed.
Just "going to the library” isn't always an option for people with disabilities. So they miss out on one of the greatest self-education and improvement technologies that humanity has ever had access to.
3. Employment Opportunities
While not all people with disabilities are able to work, many are. As the job market continues to evolve more and more into the digital landscape, it is critical that people with disabilities have the digital literacy necessary to preform in these roles.
Nearly every job position will require technology to some degree and this is only going to increase in the coming years.
The last thing that we want to create, as a society, is another barrier to employment for people with disabilities.
Digital illiteracy should not hinder people from living their best lives.
Conclusion
Technology has become a integral part of everyday life, yet many people have been left behind during this rapid advancement, creating something called the digital divide. This combined with the already present challenges that people with disabilities face can create an even greater challenge.
That is why it is our responsibility to make sure people with disabilities have digital literacy skills and tools that they need to be successful. The Arc recognizes this and is why we are taking steps to close the digital divide for good in our community.
