Cellular Disability

Words: 1745
Pages: 7

When picturing a typical person in the current cell phone and media obsessed society, one does not usually picture someone visually impaired or hard of hearing. Yet, “[for] people with disabilities in general… cell phones have gone hand in hand with new personal and collective possibilities yet… neglect in the design and shaping of mobile technologies more broadly, can lead to significant social exclusion,” (Goggin, “Cellular Disability” 380). Goggin published this in 2006, which is terms of technological development is a vast amount of time. At the time, not even smartphones were available to the average person. How have cell phones and their features, both intended and not intended for the disabled, affected those with hearing or visual impairments? Moreover, since 2006 social media has become a fixture in society. In today’s society, it plays an integral role in the interaction between people. How has the rise of social media impacted deaf and blind culture, especially when …show more content…
FaceTime video calls allow people to communicate using sign language without physically occupying the same space. Through the use of closed captions, supported in iOS and available on iTunes, those with hearing loss can fully immerse themselves in movies, television shows, Internet videos, and even podcasts. Text messaging, while not a new concept, has become more accessible and widely used. The iPhone also offers options for alerts that do not include sound. There are visual alerts, usually flashing LED lights, and vibrating alerts, of which one can even customize the pattern of. If someone has trouble hearing in one ear, they could miss part of what they are listening to if they have headphones on. Mono Audio puts all of the audio in either ear, so as not to miss any audio. iPhones are also compatible with several hearing aids, some of which can be managed from the iPhone itself