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Social Media Access for All (SoMAA) Lab

Graphic for Social Media Access for All depicting an icon of a person on top of colorful lines and social media icons

SoMAA’s MISSION

Social media platforms have transformed our modern day society in the U.S. and around the globe offering digital spaces for community building, information sharing, and connection. Yet, despite widespread use, barriers to access often prevent many with disabilities from full participation (e.g. Gleason et al., 2019; Pereira et al., 2021). Though content creators report a desire to prioritize access, the majority indicate that they are unaware of the existence of accessibility features on social media platforms (Pereira et al., 2021). Most social media posts are comprised of inaccessible content that often fails to include alternative text (descriptions of the posted image read aloud by screen readers), captions on videos, hashtags with camel case (e.g., #CamelCase) or pascal case (e.g., #PascalCase) which enhance the precision of screen readability, and adequate color contrast, calling for community-informed research that can be used to help move the needle forward.

 

Three students with face masks on stand behind a bright blue desk to get participants to enter the study

“True inclusion requires us to consider and address the many barriers that exist in every space we exist in.”

-Dr. Caitlin Solone

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