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United Kingdom : Younger disabled people enjoying the benefits of being online [TendersInfo (India)](TendersInfo (India) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Younger disabled people are taking advantage of the benefits of being online, new Ofcom research reveals. Ofcom has today published its most comprehensive study into disabled consumers use of communications services. The research shows that among the youngest age group (15-34), levels of internet access are broadly comparable, regardless of whether people have a disability or not (90% compared with 93%). This increases to 94% for disabled people and 97% for non-disabled people among the more affluent in this age group. However, for older (65+) less affluent disabled people, internet access levels are at their lowest (23%) which is significantly lower than among non-disabled people of the same age and socio-economic group (37%). Across all age groups, internet ownership is 55% for disabled consumers, compared with 83% for non-disabled consumers. This can partly be explained by their older profile as half of disabled people are aged 65+. The report also shows that mobile phone access is broadly comparable between disabled and non-disabled adults across most age groups. Ninety-two per cent of disabled people aged 15-34 have a mobile phone compared to 87% among non-disabled adults in this age group. Two-thirds of disabled people aged 75+ have a mobile phone but this is lower than among non-disabled people of the same age (72%). Variations by disability There are also variations by type of disability. Internet access is highest among people with hearing (64%) and visual impairments (62%) but lowest among people with mobility impairments (53%) or multiple impairments (51%). Of all disability groups, people with mobility or multiple impairments are the oldest, most likely to live alone, and have a lower household income. The majority of disabled internet users are using the internet daily or more often (73%), although this is lower than non-disabled internet users (85%). People with a visual impairment go online most frequently, with 81% of internet users accessing the internet at least once a day. They also using the internet more for social networking (53% compared with 45% for the disabled average) and job searches (25% compared with 16% disabled average and 22% non-disabled average). This reflects the fact that there are more young people with visual impairments than other types of disability. (c) 2013 Euclid Infotech Pvt. Ltd. Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company |