Social Media Accessibility

Why Make Social Media Accessible?

Social Media is a useful tool for both instruction and promotion. It is changing how people interact with one another, gather information, and changing how business and governments share information and deliver services.
Social Media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube are not accessible on their own and may never be. Anyone using a screen reader often has difficulty navigating social media due to lack of headers, no keyboard shortcuts, no alternate text for images, poor colour contrast, and videos with no closed captioning.

Before using social media as a teaching tool, consider that some students with disabilities will not be able to effectively use it. There are tips and methods that improve accessibility for users but since social media platforms evolve constantly, these tips and methods can change frequently.

This document will look at Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube since they are the most popular social media platforms in academic settings.