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

Caton, Sue, Hatton, Chris, Gillooly, Amanda, Oloidi, Edward, Clarke, Libby, Bradshaw, Jill, Flynn, Samantha, Taggart, Laurence, Mulhall, Peter, Jahoda, Andrew, Maguire, Roseann, Marriott, Anna, Todd, Stuart, Abbott, David, Beyer, Stephen ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2072-540X, Gore, Nick, Heslop, Pauline, Scior, Katrina and Hastings, Richard P 2022. Online social connections and Internet use among people with intellectual disabilities in the United Kingdom during the COVID-19 pandemic. New Media and Society 26 (5) , pp. 2804-2828. 10.1177/14614448221093762

PDF - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (494kB)

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.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Published Online
Status:	Published
Schools:	Medicine
Additional Information:	License information from Publisher: LICENSE 1: URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/, Start Date: 2022-05-06
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
ISSN:	1461-4448
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	7 May 2024
Last Modified:	07 May 2024 09:00
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/168723

Actions (repository staff only)

Edit Item