Use of the Internet & Social Media by People with Intellectual Disabilities
About the project
The internet and social media have become a big part of many people’s lives.
But we don’t know much about how people with intellectual disabilities use the internet and social media.
We want to hear from adults with intellectual disabilities in the UK, and the people who support them, about the positive aspects and opportunities people with intellectual disabilities have when using the internet. We also want to find out the negative aspects and barriers people might come across when using the internet.
We will do this in 3 steps:
- We will ask adults with intellectual disabilities to fill out a questionnaire about using the internet. We will ask family carers, safeguarding, and support staff to answer some questions on helping people with intellectual disabilities with using the internet
- We will invite adults with intellectual disabilities to talk about their online experiences in more detail. We will also hear from carers and staff on how they support people with intellectual disabilities with being online
- With permission, we will sit with people with intellectual disabilities and see how they use the internet and the safety steps they take.
We will also be working with Kent’s School of Computing to develop a mobile app.
We want the app to help us better understand the opportunities and risks people with intellectual disabilities come across when online.
Watch our short, introductory video
Watch an introduction to the Safer Online Lives project by Dr Vivi Triantafyllopoulou:
