As demonstrated in earlier sections, computer and Internet use is becoming increasingly commonplace in homes, schools, and on the job.  People of all ages, races, and ethnicities are moving more and more of their activities online.  Having access and the ability to use these tools is especially important to members of our community who have difficulties due to physical or mental constraints.  The tremendous communications capabilities of the Internet could provide an important tool to help people with disabilities to overcome certain of the challenges they face.  However, the data show that people with disabilities are less likely than the population as a whole to use computers or the Internet.

People with Disabilities

The September 2001 supplement marks the first time that questions about specific types of disability have been included in the set of computer and Internet use questions on the Current Population Survey (CPS).[1]  These questions do not attempt to quantify the number or the proportion of people in the population who have a disability.  Rather, these questions were posed in order to examine how specific types of disabilities impact computer and Internet use.  The questions, as asked, are shown in Box 7-1.  They cover long-lasting severe vision, hearing, mobility, and manual dexterity problems, as well as a question concerning any physical or mental condition that makes it difficult to leave the house.

Box 7-1: CPS Supplement Questions Concerning Specific Types of Disabilities

 

Approximately 8.5 percent of the population has at least one of the five disabilities covered in the survey.  As shown in Table 7-1, the incidence of each of the various types of disabilities rises sharply with age.  For example, while only 1.3 percent of children under 15 have at least one of the disabilities examined here, almost 30 percent of the population aged 65 and older has at least one of these limitations.  Because this pattern is the reverse of that followed by Internet use (which rises sharply at the younger end of the spectrum and then declines at older age levels, see Figure 2-5 in Chapter 2), it is important to consider the question of computer and Internet use by people with disabilities within relevant age categories.[2]  However, the relatively few respondents who have these disabilities at the lower end of the age range and the relatively few respondents who use computers and the Internet at the upper end of the age range severely limit the degree of disaggregation that can be undertaken.  Therefore, this analysis is limited to three broad groups: individuals under 25, 25 to 60 year-olds, and those over 60.

Table 7-1: Age Distribution of Specific Disabilities

as a Percent of Population, 2001

 

Source: NTIA and ESA, U.S. Department of Commerce, using U.S. Census Bureau Current Population Survey Supplements

 

Under 25 Year-Olds[3]

Less than 2 percent of the population between ages 3 and 24 reported having at least one of the disabilities considered in this report.  Table 7-2 contains the only relevant data on computer and Internet use that can reliably be presented for this age group.  Although “Internet Use at Home” is lower among those with disabilities, Internet use from other locations brings those with either severe vision or hearing impairments up to the level of the population in general and substantially improves the connectivity situation of individuals in the other disability categories.  While a reasonable assumption would be that many of these young people have Internet access through their school, this cannot be demonstrated with this survey data because of the small number of observations in this category.

Table 7-2: Computer and Internet Use Among 3 to 24 Year-Olds By Disability Status, 2001

Source: NTIA and ESA, U.S. Department of Commerce, using U.S. Census Bureau Current Population Survey Supplements

 

25 to 60 Year-Olds

Among individuals between the ages of 25 and 60, the likelihood of having at least one of the five disabilities considered here increases to 7.3 percent.  As shown in Table 7-3 below, with the exception of those individuals with severe hearing impairment, those who have at least one of these disabilities are less likely than those without a disability to live in a home with a personal computer.  And even in homes with a computer, people who have at least one of these disabilities are less likely to use the computer or the Internet.

Table 7-3: Computer and Internet Use at Home Among 25 to 60 Year-Olds
By Disability Status, 2001

Source: NTIA and ESA, U.S. Department of Commerce, using U.S. Census Bureau Current Population Survey Supplements

 

 

People who have at least one of the listed disabilities are much less likely to be Internet users than those without any of these disabilities.  Further, even among Internet users, the Internet activities of people with disabilities are somewhat different.  As shown in Table 7-4, people with disabilities are more likely than the population in general to use the Internet to play games and search for health information. 

Table 7-4: Internet Activities of 25 to 60 Year-Olds
By Disability Status, 2001

Source: NTIA and ESA, U.S. Department of Commerce, using U.S. Census Bureau Current Population Survey Supplements

 

In an earlier section of this report (see Chapter 6), rates of computer and Internet use were shown to vary substantially by employment status.  As shown in Figure 7-1, while people with severely limited sight and hearing have employment rates approaching that of the population that does not have one of these disabilities, people in the other disability categories are much less likely to be employed.

 

Figure 7-1: Employment Rates Among 25 to 60 Year-Olds
by Disability Status, as a Percent of U.S. Population, 2001

Source: NTIA and ESA, U.S. Department of Commerce, using U.S. Census Bureau Current Population Survey Supplements

People who are not employed fall into one of two major categories: unemployed (which means that one is in the labor force, but is not employed) and out of the labor force (not looking for a job).  The CPS records those not in the labor force as retired, disabled, or other.  Overall, 78.6 percent of the population between ages 25 and 60 is employed, 3.1 percent is unemployed, 2.6 percent is retired, 4.9 percent is “disabled,” and 10.8 percent fall into the “other” category.[4] 

The data are sufficient to provide a comparison of persons who gave “disability” as the reason they were not in the labor force for some of the disability categories.[5]  Of the disabilities considered here, it is not surprising that those with more than one of the disabilities were the most likely to be out of the labor force for reasons of disability.  People with mobility issues (both the “difficulty walking or climbing stairs” and the “inability to leave the house to go to an appointment”) also had high rates of being out of the labor force due to disability.  As shown in Figure 7-2, 1.8 percent of individuals who replied negatively to the five specific disability questions contained in Box 1 are not in the labor force due to a disability.  People with vision or hearing issues are much less likely to be out of the labor force because of their disability.

Figure 7-2: “Not in the Labor Force Because of Disability”
Among 25 to 60 Year-Olds by Disability Status, 2001

Source: NTIA and ESA, U.S. Department of Commerce, using U.S. Census Bureau Current Population Survey Supplements

On the job, people with either a vision or hearing disability or with multiple disabilities are less likely to use a computer at work than others (Table 7-5).  Even among those that do use a computer, substantial differences remain in the extent to which they connect to the Internet or use e-mail.  One interesting finding is that the disability category showing the highest rate of on-the-job computer use are those persons who report “having a condition that makes it difficult to type on an ordinary typewriter or traditional computer keyboard.”  This group has work computer use rates similar to that of the population without one of these disabilities.  However, given the fact that 22.5 percent of people in this category are employed in administrative positions where the incidence of repetitive motion disorders such as carpal tunnel syndrome may be high, makes this finding less surprising.

 

Table 7-5: Computer and Internet Use at Work Among Employed 25 to 60 Year-Olds
By Disability Status, 2001

 

Over 60 Year-Olds

In general, those over age 60 are less likely than other age groups to have a computer in their home or to use the PC or the Internet in the home and for those with a disability the use rates are even lower (Table 7-5).  In addition, people in this age group are much less likely to use the Internet outside of the home.  For example, the difference between Internet use from home and Internet use from any location was 13.4 percent among those between 3 and 24 who have difficulty walking or climbing stairs (a rise from 32.6 percent to 46.0 percent).  The comparable change was only 2.0 percent for the population over 60 with a similar disability (14.1 percent who use the Internet from home to 16.1 percent who use the Internet from any location).

The Interaction of Disability with Computer and Internet Use

The charts and tables above are suggestive that people with disabilities tend to use computers and the Internet at rates below the average for the population.  From these tables, however, it is not possible to discern whether other factors, such as education or income, are actually the variables driving the disparity, rather than the fact of the disability.  However, statistical analysis indicates that even when income, education, and age are accounted for, people with disabilities considered here are less likely than those without disabilities to be Internet users.[6] 

 

Table 7-5: Computer and Internet Use at Home Among Those Over 60
By Disability Status, 2001

Source: NTIA and ESA, U.S. Department of Commerce, using U.S. Census Bureau Current Population Survey Supplements