One billion people, 15% of the world’s population, identify as disabled, with the number of disabled people even higher in the Global South according to The World Bank. Several decades into a global disruption caused by the Internet, disabled people often lack access to information communication technology or online spaces. Despite being a new space for human interaction and community, the online world is similarly plagued by barriers that prevent disabled people from participating in what the business world calls the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Disabled children can struggle to access the digital tools now used in education, whether because they cannot afford specialized adaptive technology needed to make computers accessible or because learning platforms are incompatible with existing adaptive technology. Similarly, disabled adults can struggle to find or maintain employment because of an increased expectation of digital skills or technology. However, even though the digital realm is filled with injustices, many disabled people also feel empowered by their digital technology. New adaptive devices offer disabled people a level of access previously unattainable, with telework platforms opening new employment opportunities for those unable to find accessible employment. The rise of 3D printing and schematic sharing online is slowly changing the relationship between users and manufacturers of adaptive devices. Social media platforms have enabled disability communities to form beyond geographic boundaries and foster an evolving disability culture. These networks provide an opportunity to show their resilience and ingenuity by sharing “life hacks” on how to survive in an inaccessible world. Just as important, though, social media has offered a vital tool in activist organizing and solidarity, pushing disability rights into the mainstream conversation and amplifying the voices of the disability justice movement.
This Special Issue calls for research articles that investigate the many places disability resides in the digital world. From art to social networking to telework to gaming, articles can explore a variety of issues that disabled people face in the digital realm. What do access and inclusion mean in digital spaces? How does injustice and exclusion occur in digital spaces? How might we better understand the digital divide through the lens of ableism? How is the disability community represented in digital media?
This Special Issue will contribute to the growing interest about disabled people in digital spaces within the discipline of critical disability studies/disability studies.
Contributions must follow one of the three categories of papers for the journal (article, conceptual paper, or review) and address the topic of the Special Issue.
