Week 2 - Creating a New Social Media Platform

             ConnectAbility is a brand-new social media platform that was specifically designed for handicapped, physically, and mentally impaired people. This social media platform is intended to unite everyone with ID (intellectual disability).

                        According to Leach (2020), social media is used by 5.07 billion people worldwide, or 62.6 percent of the total population. There are an estimated 590 million handicapped users on social media if we take into account that 20% of the population has a disability (Petrosyan, 2024; Leach, 2020, paras.12 & 13). The proximity of the difference of users of social media might increase gradually, hence potentially fostering a greater digital divide if this scenario continues to occur. This social media platform is designed to connect the intellectually disabled community mentally and develop their openness and willingness to embrace and keep up with the rapid pace of digital technology advancement. Next, the virtual interconnectability provides individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID) another way to connect.

                        First and foremost, ConnectAbility will be a zero-profit social media platform. Every user can be a content creator online, but they will not be paid. ConnectAbility aims to construct a healthy environment whereby everyone is equal without hierarchy. ConnectAbility will strictly respect and protect users’ information including their jobs, the groups they joined, their financial status et cetera. Despite the main aim of the application being to bring together people with intellectual disabilities, it is the application developing team’s responsibility to refrain from data leaks and frauds that happen within the community. Therefore, every user is given free access and a low threshold to become a content creator as a hobby but not their career; moreover, to prevent users from phone addiction issues that will severely impact their daily lives.

                        After that, ConnectAbility can assist users in organizing gatherings and sharing sessions. Conformity can act as a reagent to encourage people with intellectual disabilities (ID) to go out more to socialize. This social media will require users for location access consent, therefore helping users to scan and check the nearest parties or gatherings that they are welcome or interested in attending. Users are given access to either instantly reserve their seats to attend the gathering or desired time. People with intellectual disabilities (ID) will perceive other individuals with cognitive disabilities as their in-group members. They are more likely to share the same topics and context when communicating with each other. Groups give members knowledge, support, and a sense of social interaction in addition to fulfilling the urge to belong. When people are in unclear, stressful circumstances, ask them if they would want to wait in groups or by themselves. Surprisingly, in these circumstances, individuals attach and seek out other people's companionship (Forsyth, n.d.; Scachter, 1959, as cited in Forsyth, n.d., para. 6).

                        Moreover, as this social media platform intended to inspire its targeted users to have a life filled with positivity and motivation, this zero-profit platform will not be accepting any monetary advertising from external companies or products as other mainstream social media platforms such as Instagram or Facebook. The social media platform will only promote motivational quotes to boost self-esteem. Staggart (n.d.) declared that motivation being a push factor has resulted in one must perform, even if they may not want to, by an external force. In contrast, inspiration acts more as a draw or motivator. It is an internal force that motivates all of us to actively put out our best effort. People who are motivated stick to one another through thick and thin (as cited in Tumasang,2022, p.9). In ConnectAbility, users are given the freedom to customize the frequency at which they want to see these motivational quotes based on their necessities and personal preferences. Figure 1.0 and Figure 1.1 showcase examples of motivational quotes that will be viewed by the users of ConnectAbility.

Figure 1.0 Motivational Quotes Displayed to Users

Source: https://brightwatergroup.com/news-media/14-inspirational-quotes-for-people-with-disabilities/

 

Figure 1.1 Second Motivational Quotes Displayed to Users

Source: https://brightwatergroup.com/news-media/14-inspirational-quotes-for-people-with-disabilities/

                        In conclusion, the idea of ConnectAbility aimed to target users with intellectual disabilities (ID) to unite them together ignoring the physical barriers of proximity so that they can construct and maintain relationships online within similar communities by offering them a brand new method of social interaction with electronic devices; moreover, to assist them to adapt to the fast-paced online world better as the technology evolves. Unique features such as detecting and scanning users’ nearby environment to search for outdoor events and parties via their personal electronic gadgets’ location access to encourage them to participate in outdoor activities hosted by other users online. Motivational quotes will replace the usual social media advertising content that comes together with personalization on the frequency of displaying these motivational messages to tailor their needs. This non-profit social media platform will fulfill individuals with cognitive disabilities’ needs and wants in terms of their social lives.

References

14 inspirational quotes for people with disabilities. (2020, January 22). Brightwatergroup.com. https://brightwatergroup.com/news-media/14-inspirational-quotes-for-people-with-disabilities/

Forsythe, D. R. (n.d.). The Psychology of Groups. Noba. https://nobaproject.com/modules/the-psychology-of-groups#:~:text=Groups%20not%20only%20satisfy%20the

Leach, B. (2020, June 30). Accessibility on Social Media. HeX Productions. https://www.horlix.com/accessibility-on-social-media/#:~:text=The%20importance%20of%20making%20your%20social%20content%20accessible&text=Roughly%20half%20the%20world

Petrosyan, A. (2024, May 22). Internet and social media users in the world 2024. Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/617136/digital-population-worldwide/#:~:text=Worldwide%20digital%20population%202024&text=As%20of%20April%202024%2C%20there

Tumasang, S. S. (2022). Motivational Quotes on Social Media: A Rhetorical Appraisal. International Journal of Linguistics Studies, 2(1), 08-18. https://doi.org/10.32996/ijls.2022.2.1.2