In 2023, there is a website or app for just about any task, and these digital platforms offer convenience, cost savings, and efficiency. Yet, digital platforms have not been designed for everyone. Researchers at AFB conducted the Barriers to Digital Inclusion Survey (BDIS) to learn about the prevalence and impacts of digital inclusion barriers faced by individuals who are blind, have low vision, or are deafblind.
Conducted in late 2022, the survey captures the barriers faced by 398 research participants. These findings reveal the consequences of inaccessibility both for the individuals who face the barriers and the companies and organizations whose programs, services, and products contain barriers. At the end of the report, we offer recommendations for policymakers, business leaders, and computing educators to create greater digital inclusion and ensure that businesses are reaching all of their customers effectively.
Read the report online:
- Executive Summary
- Introduction
- Description of Survey Participants
- Assistive Technology Use
- Access Barriers in Websites and Mobile Apps
- Access Barriers in Video Programming and Ebooks
- Consequences of Access Barriers
- Final Reflections from Participants
- Final thoughts
- Recommendations
Download the BDIS Executive Summary
Download the Complete BDIS Study
If you have any questions, please get in touch with our Public Policy and Research Institute at research@afb.org.
In the words of two research participants:
“It's frustrating when I have filled my shopping cart with groceries and other items, only to find that I am unable to access my cart and check out because ads are in my way, and there's no way to get past them. I also encounter a lot of garbled text on some websites, and it's hard to understand what the app is telling me. In a lot of apps, I will double-tap on a particular item, and nothing happens. It's very frustrating to have to wait for sighted assistance to complete tasks that I should be able to accomplish independently and without stress!”
“Technology has opened access to information that was more difficult to access before. However, technology has also created barriers in the form of inaccessible interfaces and systems that have held me back and cost individuals their jobs that they were able to do prior to the introduction of such technology.”
