Digital inclusion for an accessible, usable and communicative Internet

Whether through a conversation, a text message or a photograph, the interaction in society happens through communication, and it is no different on the internet. However, as we continue to increasingly isolate each other, with our research, postings, and sharing, it is easier to forget about what goes beyond us – and our “social bubbles” – in the use of the internet. How to collaborate for the digital inclusion of other users to a freer, more open and, indeed, communicative internet?

Is access digital inclusion?

The terms access, usability and digital inclusion always end up appearing together in discussions about how society communicates over the internet. According to Cristina Mori, in her publication “Public Policies for Digital Inclusion in Brazil”, it is possible to investigate what is considered Digital Inclusion in three main aspects: digital inclusion as access, as digital literacy and as an appropriation of technologies. Considering the first of the highlighted aspects, which is more related to the problematic of this post, to digitally include a person would be to grant this person access to Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs).
Access to technologies such as computers, mobile phones and wireless internet is, in fact, essential for people to be able to communicate through networks. However, the issue of inclusion, as the author herself points out, also needs to be seen beyond simple access to the technologies and infrastructure of the internet. Having a computer with internet access is, as a first step, essential – but knowing how to use it and in fact, being able to communicate, accessing information available on the internet and using it is a much deeper and more diverse social issue. Access can be seen as a gateway, but not as a guarantor of the conscious and thoughtful use of technology and the internet.

Online Usability: broadening access

Since access does not necessarily mean knowing or being able to use the technologies and actually communicating on the internet, it is clear that not everyone with a computer or cell phone is digitally included. Being connected is, above all, establishing communication with others – which can live in social, economic and even totally different physical contexts of ours. When we consider the internet as an environment that reflects and brings new possibilities to the offline society – if we can make that distinction -, it is indispensable to consider all the differences present in our society in the infrastructure, language and contents that circulate in the network.

The term “usability” appears when we think about this diverse range of users. The concept of usability is directly related to how easy it is to use digital interfaces, such as websites, applications, social networks or search engines. After all, we may even have access to a website, but can we really achieve our goals on this site if its content is disorganized, the texts are poorly readable or the connection to the server is always failing? An interface with good usability is the one that cares about its user in every way: the simplicity of navigation, the clarity of the information and even the colors’ choice. The attention of developers and web designers to these aspects is essential so that people not only access, but also have the best experience of use and, in fact, understand the messages communicated by the interface.

Is the internet really more and more interactive?

Have you ever thought about what it would be like to a blind person to access a site full of images in relation to another one who can see? We can say that both of them have access to the site – one only by the browser, and the other associating the browser to a screen reader software – but not ensure that everyone has the same experience in use, which makes the same site different for the two users, in practice. The description of visual content can be made in a simple way, easily identified through screen reader softwares, but still, we hardly find websites that worry about doing this.

This is just a small example of how common goes sense wrong in many ways by characterizing the online environment as increasingly diverse and interactive. When we consider accessible content such as posts, job sites and social network profiles without thinking about many people with physical and cognitive restrictions, for example, we exclude from the interaction – and therefore, access to information and opportunity to communication – users who are part of the diversity that makes up the internet and society in general. The lack of concern about the interlocutor leads to the digital exclusion that, inevitably, is also social.

Including the other in communication is everyone’s duty

So far it is clear that technicians, developers, web designers, and communication professionals should always remember in the construction of textual, visual or audiovisual speeches who can be on the other side, so that, in fact, the message is accessible to all. However, remembering that the internet is an environment where interests of the most diverse sectors of society are present is important when thinking about what can be done to make the internet a more inclusive place.

The network is composed of technicians, governments, researchers, civil society organizations (such as IRIS), companies and also ourselves, users. Therefore, making information accessible and hence always open communication can happen not only by programming lines or changes of interface of social networks, but in many other ways that involves all other sectors and even the users themselves. This discussion is relatively recent and has also been discussed in Brazil, such as the workshop on Digital Inclusion Policies of the VIII Internet Forum in Brazil.

What can we do then?

Recognizing each other one’s presence in everything we communicate – whether online or offline – is the first big step in the search for social and digital inclusion. For this, the exercise of empathy is imperative. This constant task of trying to get closer to others’ reality is not easy, but still, it is not impossible.

If you are a designer, have you ever thought there are color blind people and that it is possible to develop color graphics that also work for these users? And if you have a photo gallery on Instagram, Facebook page or Twitter profile, have you heard about the hashtag #ParaCegoVer, which provides a guide to the textual description of images for people with visual impairments? Initiatives like these, which at first seem simple, show how empathy, by becoming present in the production of content and interfaces for the most diverse users, increases communication and, consequently, social participation in the internet.

Learning, discussing and performing

Thinking about digital inclusion, as already mentioned, is always thinking about the other one’s place in interaction and communication. Not always the way we usually write posts, create images or publish videos is the most appropriate so that what we make is, in fact, accessible to everyone. Recognizing that our perspective is different of other ones’ is imperative for us to think about new ways of creating that take into account different realities of use on the internet, including all these other ones.

What about finding out more about these different realities of use? You can watch this discussion on the inclusion of the visually impaired on the internet, and also check out our post on the legal scenario of accessibility and digital inclusion in Brazil.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors.