The Role of Social Media in Promoting Inclusive Communication between the Non-Disabled and People with Disabilities through Accessibility Features

Abstract

The study sought to establish whether social media can promote inclusive communication between people with disabilities and those without through accessible features in Saudi Arabia. Two areas of interest in the study were inclusivity and accessibility of social media features. People with disabilities must be included in the online space and have access to features that enable them to communicate easily. Social media communication can be sending a friend request, chatting, or responding to people's posts. The study engaged a self-report of 154 participants of varied levels of education and age groups, including gender, different provinces around the country, and the social media platforms they preferred. The descriptive and inferential analyses show that social media platforms can promote inclusive communication if accessible features are available. Accessible features include alt text, a simple user interface, hashtags, emoticons, and captions.