Tech Notes
Social Media has become a place where we can come together to post about our pets, have a quick laugh, and congratulate each other on achievements. However, with the inherent reliance on images in these platforms, the full scope and value of these interactions may not apply to everyone if alternative text is not available. Alternative text, or alt text, is a short and concise description of the visual information in an image, which is particularly useful for individuals who are blind or have low vision. Alt text plays a crucial role in ensuring that the content on social media is more inclusive and accessible for all users.
Many people are unaware of what alt text is, how it works, and why it is important. Some users navigate digital interfaces with assistive technology such as screen readers, which allow these users to read text on their devices by converting it into speech or braille, and the inclusion of alt text means a user who cannot see an image is still able to perceive the information it conveys.
Personally, even as someone with prior knowledge on what alt text was, I never thought of its importance from a social media perspective. So I decided to put myself in the shoes of an assistive technology user. As I navigated through my social media apps with a screen reader, I noticed that there is little to no alternative text provided at all. Context clues were not enough to understand the message the post was trying to convey. Sometimes the captions (if there was one) were descriptive enough to somewhat guess what the image could have entailed, but that is not nearly close to a good user experience. Navigating was tedious and felt pointless since I didn’t have a clue what the content was about. It can feel like a disconnect if a user cannot correctly interpret the content on a platform specifically made to connect people.
The Root of the Problem
Many social media sites lack the proper software capabilities to allow users to efficiently create accessible content. For example, any social media platform that offers a “Story” feature does not allow alt text. Since stories tend to be ineligible for text alternatives, it limits the user’s ability to understand what is taking place. To try and mitigate these issues, many platforms auto generate alt text on posts with images. However, the software cannot successfully generate alt text when the user does not provide any. The auto generated alt text is usually inaccurate or can even be more confusing than not having any at all. And believe me, I checked.
Beyond static images, some social media platforms do not allow users to add accessible alternatives to their videos, or at least nothing beyond providing extra description alongside a post, and browsers nor other technology really support the concept of alt text for videos. Not to say video content can’t be made accessible— it can, through captioning, audio description, or video transcripts. You can read more on Creating Accessible Video Content here. But efficient software support for it across social media sites is lacking, and without captioning text, users who rely on screen readers have no way of knowing what is going on in the video. If a video lacks audio descriptions, a user may not understand any nonverbal occurrences such as facial expressions or actions that are taking place. A descriptive caption is rarely enough to convey a video's purpose, while a video transcript could easily get the message across to any user who cannot listen to the audio.
Small Steps to Improve
What can be done to resolve this issue? Holistically, social media platforms should implement alt text options for all types of content, such as stories and videos, and ensure that it is easy to implement, since even when there is an option for the user to add alt text to their post, it isn’t always easy to locate or intuitive to use. Giving users the option to add alt text to all variations of content allows for more inclusivity. Additionally, the platform should prompt and encourage users to add their own descriptions, or at the very least, review and correct automated ones.
Overall, the main goal is to allow every user to enjoy their experience on social media. Alternative text enables a more diverse audience to engage with social media. By raising awareness, improving platform features, and encouraging users to adopt inclusive practices, we can allow everyone to engage and connect in that space.
How to do that may differ between apps or sites. Some of them, such as Tumblr, have accessibility features at the forefront and easily allow you to include and edit alternative text. Others, such as Instagram, are a bit less intuitive but still allow users to add alternative texts in all their posts. Some, such as Twitter/X, do not allow you to retroactively add alternative text to your posts but provide that feature during the posting process itself. Below are some general tips on how you can take action, regardless of the platform!
Doing Your Part: A Guide On Writing Alternative Text
Adding alternative text to your social media posts takes a couple of seconds to do. Something that seems so small can truly make a huge difference. Let’s go over the basics of how to write alt text, with some examples to help:
- Be descriptive but also concise. You want to be sure to explain the image in clear terms that are easy to understand.
- Example: Instead of “a dog,” a better description could be “A big white dog running through a grassy field.”
- Avoid including phrases such as “A picture of” or “an image of.” A screen reader will let the user know that the content they are focusing on is a picture. Adding these phrases would be unnecessary.
- Example: Instead of “an image of the beach,” use “A crowded beach with people playing in the water.”
- Only focus on the important aspects. When describing a picture, you want to think of its context. Remember that the point is to convey the image’s meaning to the user through text, so understanding and relaying it according to *how *it’s being used is important. You also want to convey any distinctive features that there may be.
- Example: When describing your meal from a new cafe spot, you could say “A breakfast plate with cheesy scrambled eggs, two strips of crispy bacon, and two fluffy chocolate chip pancakes.”
- Include any necessary text provided in the image. If the image contains any words that are important to understanding the context, be sure to put that in the alt text.
- Example: “Two people standing in front of a sign with the text ‘Welcome to the Paradise Resort’ smiling and holding hands.”
Using these tips, I immediately went to my social media pages and added alt text to each of my existing posts. It only took a minute or two, and it made me feel better that my posts had them. I reached out to friends and family and suggested they do the same. I showed them how to make the change if they didn’t know how and I will continue to integrate this going forward.
About the Author
Donasia Washington is a full-time Business Analytics student at Florida Polytechnic University and a current intern with AFB’s Talent Lab. She is passionate about bringing digital accessibility into business spaces, which is an area where inclusion is often overlooked. Through her internship, she aims to grow her awareness and understanding of accessible design practices and explore how they can be integrated into business strategies and critical decision making.
About AFB Talent Lab
The AFB Talent Lab aims to meet the accessibility needs of the tech industry – and millions of people living with disabilities – through a unique combination of hands-on training, mentorship, and consulting services, created and developed by our own digital inclusion experts. To learn more about our internship and apprenticeship programs or our client services, please visit our website at www.afb.org/talentlab.
