The impact of internet usage on social interaction among people with visual disabilities

Abstract

The study has examined the impact of internet usage on social interaction among the blind and visually impaired. It has also sought to explore why the blind and visually impaired use the internet. This study has mainly examined three aspects of internet usage: (a) how individual differences – more specifically, social anxiety and loneliness – are related to internet motivations, (b) how the need for affiliation motivation is related to internet behaviors in terms of self-presentation (c) how self-presentation is related to social interaction. The impact of the demographic characteristics on the participants' internet usage has been further examined.