Digital inclusion of people with disabilities: a qualitative study of intra-disability diversity in the digital realm

Abstract

This paper presents an in-depth study of intra-disability diversity in the digital realm and the related role of individuality and selectiveness in the digital choices and experiences of people with disabilities (PwD). The study adopts the interactionist model of disability and problematises conceptual uniformity in research that focuses on the medical and socially-constructed features of disability as those determining digital constraints and affordances for PwD. Through primary qualitative evidence, it argues that individuality and selectiveness shape a complex terrain of intra-disability diversity, which forms the nuances and experiences of digital inclusion for PwD. Thus, it invites researchers to move beyond disability-fixed categorisations and offers a 3-tier recommendation for future research to explain the range of PwD’ perceptions and experiences in the digital realm.