Digital Divides, Disability and

Disability continues to gain increased attention in both theory and research. In the past, disability was primarily cast as an impairment and was seen as an individual matter subject to professional (i.e., medical) intervention. In the 21st century, disability has come to be viewed alongside race, class, gender, and sexual orientation as a socially constructed concept and identity location frequently linked to disenfranchisement. It has also been recognized as a major source of digital inequality. This entry examines the social status of disability, the digital disability divide, some of the ways in which people with disabilities (PWD) are embracing the Internet, the development of Internet-based assistive technologies, and policy initiatives designed to close the digital disability divide.