Online social connections and Internet use among people with intellectual disabilities in the United Kingdom during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Having a disability, in particular, an intellectual disability, is associated with Internet non-use. This article explores how people with intellectual disabilities used the Internet across the United Kingdom during the COVID-19 pandemic. In April to May 2021, 571 adults with intellectual disabilities were interviewed. Participants most commonly used the Internet for being with family and friends, social media or doing online activities with other people. People who lived with family were the most likely to use social media; people who lived with other people with intellectual disabilities were the least likely. People who self-reported as not lonely were more likely to use the Internet for online activities with others and play video games with others. Social connections were identified as the best thing about the Internet. Many participants chose not to identify a worst thing about Internet use, while others reported issues with technology, online harm and threats to well-being.

Professional and Family Carers’ Perspectives on the COVID-19 Pandemic and Its Impact on Supported Decision-Making with Adults with Intellectual Disabilities: A Qualitative Online Survey

“…It enabled persons with intellectual disabilities to speak to loved ones, despite not being able to visit, and it afforded opportunities to try new activities that may not have otherwise been available to them. Previous researchers have found that using online resources, particularly communication apps, allowed people who were vulnerable or self-isolating to keep in contact with their families and friends, which helped to decrease feelings of loneliness and isolation [26][27][28]. The literature also echoes this study's findings on the limitations and challenges of online activities among adults with intellectual disabilities.…”

“I would be lost without it but it's not the same” experiences of adults with intellectual disabilities of using information & communication technology during the COVID‐19 global pandemic

“…Barriers related to technology volume, complexity and failure and also to inexperience and poverty (Caton et al, 2022). Critically, absence of and inadequate support to engage with ICT and understand their own ICT support needs impeded participants' digital participation.…”

“…They are being digitally left behind during the Pandemic, which may further isolate them and leave them with more impoverished lives in the aftermath (Chadwick et al, 2022). Emerging evidence has revealed that ICT use has increased during the pandemic amongst people with intellectual disabilities (Caton et al, 2022) although a disability digital divide is still present for some (Chadwick et al, 2022).…”

Disabled People’s Experiences of the Coronavirus Pandemic: A Call to Action for Social Change

“…Examples provided by disabled people included how their access to much-needed health and social care had changed, with particular therapies being cancelled altogether; or how they experienced challenges in navigating new social norms, such as people with hearing impairments being unable to lip read with opaque face masks, or when people with visual impairments found maintaining appropriate social distancing difficult. Recommended practices to help respond to the Coronavirus pandemic, such as self-isolation, can specifically disadvantage disabled people for a number of reasons, for example, when public health information is not provided in accessible formats, where disabled people require support from care workers, or where disabled people's social interactions with others are restricted due to limited digital literacy or because they do not have access to stable internet connections (Caton et al, 2022;Kuper et al, 2020;Shakespeare et al, 2022). In addition, through the Coronavirus pandemic, disabled people reported being at particular risk of experiencing financial stress and instability, such as food insecurity and needing to use food banks, as well as difficulty in accessing welfare support (e.g., Emerson et al, 2021;Inclusion London, 2020;Loopstra, 2020;Scope, 2020).…”