PEW Report: Americans Living with Disability and their Technology Profile

Using the internet can be a challenge for people living with disabilities. Two percent of American adults say they have a disability or illness that makes it harder or impossible for them to use the internet. The Pew Internet Project provides the following data as context for the continuing conversation about who does – and does not – use the internet in the U.S., including a proposal to extend the enforcement of the Americans with Disabilities Act to include websites operated by certain entities. Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project | January 2011

Statistically speaking, disability is associated with being older, less educated, and living in a lower-income household. By contrast, internet use is statistically associated with being younger, college-educated, and living in a higher-income household. Thus, it is not surprising that people living with disability report lower rates of internet access than other adults. However, when all of these demographic factors are controlled, living with a disability in and of itself is negatively correlated with someone’s likelihood to have internet access.