Internet not as accessible for the disabled

A Pew report finds that only 54% of people with disabilities have Internet access

Nearly 50 million people in the United States live with a disability, and a new report published Friday by the Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project finds that half of all disabled people do not have Internet access.

The report comes as the Department of Justice is weighing in on a proposal that would make Web information on disability services more accessible to people with disabilities.  While a plethora of disability services is available on the websites of different governmental and private entities, many people with disabilities don’t have access to that information because they don’t have Internet access.  Only 54% of people living with disabilities have access to the Internet at home, compared to 81% of adults in the general population, according to the study.

The survey, which was conducted in September 2010, finds that 27% of American adults live with a disability that interferes with their daily activities, including climbing stairs, concentrating or remembering, hearing, running errands like going to the doctor’s office or shopping, and so on. 

People with disabilities are more likely to live in households earning less than $30,000 a year: 46% compared to 26% of the general population.  They are also more likely to have a high school education or less, the study finds: 61% compared to 40% of adults without disabilities.  In addition, 58% of adults living with disabilities are age 50 or older, compared to 36% of adults who don’t have disabilities.  Also telling, only 41% of people living with disabilities have broadband, compared to 69% of those without a disability.

“Statistically speaking, disability is associated with being older, less educated, and living in a lowerincome household,” the report notes.  “By contrast, internet use is statistically associated with being younger, college educated, and living in a higher-income household.”  But the report also notes that when all of those demographic factors are controlled, people with disabilities are still less likely than the general population to have Internet access.

Not having Internet access isn’t the end of the world, but it does impede one’s ability to get new health information, find a job, and connect with other people to share health information.  Pew’s researchers have found that 43% of Americans believe that people who do not have broadband at home are missing out on job opportunities and learning new career skills, and 34% believe that not having broadband makes it more difficult for people to get relevant health information.  

Image source: llu.edu