Social Media and Student With Disabilities: Challenges and Opportunities

Introduction

There is an estimated 77% of the United States population engaged in one or more forms of social media use (Statista, 2018). Social media is the broad term used to describe “forms of electronic communication (such as websites for social networking and microblogging) through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages, and other content” (Merriam-Webster, 2004). The influence of social media and networking can be observed across many settings in our society, both private and public. From sending a private text message to a friend or contacting a colleague through a professional email to sharing a post with the public eye via Twitter or Instagram. Social media can provide multiple opportunities, such as building relationships, sharing expertise, increasing visibility of content, educating oneself and staying connected to others at all times (Friedman, 2014). In the past decade, social media has become an increasingly prevalent, daily form of communication and entertainment for a majority of individuals. Giving people the ability to interact quickly and easily with each other, no matter the distance between them.

Unsurprisingly, social media usage and knowledge differs by generation. “Generation Z” is often known or referred to as the first group of “social natives” (Hill Holiday Media, 2018, p. 3). Generation Z is composed of individuals born from the mid-1990s to early 2010s, who have grown up being exposed to the rise of technology, the internet and social media. According to Darla Rothman (2016), “This generation is tech-savvy and prefers to communicate using social media over direct contact with people. They are the first generation born into an integrated and globally connected world, where the Internet has always been available” (p. 2). Recent studies have shown that over 90% of Gen Z members use a least one social media platform (Hill Holiday Media, 2018, p. 4).

In addition to technology, “social natives” have been around to experience an economic recession and the effects of global warming. Generation Z witnessed communities rebuilding themselves after natural disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Sandy. As well as experiencing the national changes that followed the 9/11 attack and the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars, Generation Z has also been present to experience the election of the United States’s first African-American president and the largest number of women and minorities holding political positions. As a group, they are often characterized as extreme multi-taskers, always looking for the next (mostly electronic) interaction or source of information. They are individuals whose brains are wired to prefer visual imagery over auditory instruction. In terms of learning and the workplace, Gen Z can produce effective results in a shorter period of time compared to older peers (Rothman, 2016, p. 2-5). Perhaps most telling though, is the common description of Gen Z as the babies who held their parents’ smartphones and figured out the functions before they became toddlers.

While Generation Z is clearly a technologically adept group, greatly skilled in a variety of tools and applications, there are still individuals in this generation from under-represented groups who are not afforded the same social media access or opportunities as their peers. Individuals with disabilities or special needs are often neglected in terms of acceptance and inclusion. According to Anderson and Perrin (2017):