Disability Club Inclusive Social Media

Thanks for sharing this, I just had a question though, are you able to make your own group? I noticed that there’s only three groups and two of them were active like three months ago and six months ago and the current one is within GTA it was active one hour ago mountain time, so is there a way to make your own group I am a voice over user. Thank you in advance.

My first thought when I saw an entry for this app was are we trying to work on further isolating ourselves from the rest of the world? I mean, hey I mean that’s just my idea. I feel like we’re already kind of off in our own little disabled people‘s bubble sometimes and I just really don’t wanna stay further in it than where I already am. I may have nothing wrong with being on site. You know to help disable people obviously I’m on here but I mean as far as like the rest of my life like I’m just glad that we know after high school at least in the US there isn’t like you know exclusively blind people you know, school or work pleasure or whatever I just feel like that would be even more isolating than what I already am. I could be wrong, but that’s why I stay on like you know regular Facebook and whatever. I mean, I’d say I just saw a social media for me. I really not the biggest fan of social media but I mean I just have a Facebook. Even though I’m barely on it, but yeah, I don’t know. I think it’s ironic today is an app for disabled people that has accessibility issues. Just saying. It’s interesting though. I guess people that are into that kind of stuff.

Some app intended for disabled users and yet not fully accessible? What a shame! I also partly agree with @Singer Girl about whether we should try to find or create a disabled-only space, which can actually be useful in some ways — like Applevis itself where we can express our needs and expectations, and discuss things that sighted users likely don't care or know much about.

Irony,that word most beloved, has a place here.

I’m like the first person who doesn’t care at all if I’m called handicapped disabled whatever I don’t give a crap. I was only asking out of curiosity if we think we are further isolating ourselves by having an exclusive disabled social media space. Of course there are times as necessary such as this particular website itself of Apple VIS. Of course it is. It’s been an amazing place to go and we need that as far as the way that we have to use our Apple products because it is going to be different just because of the nature of the disability That I have. I didn’t wanna say because I know some people on here and get upset if I say anything about being disabled, but I am and I’m proud of it and I don’t really care if I have that label on me or not. It is kind of ironic that an app for people with disabilities isn’t you know 100% accessible though. Hopefully that will change with an update and that whatever Accessibility issues and there will be fixed. I’m just like not the biggest social media fan in general. I literally only went on Facebook originally so that I could do my voice lessons virtually when I had to drink Covid. I’m not even kidding. That’s literally the only reason I got Facebook. I kept it because I still had to have some lessons virtually occasionally. Well I did with the previous teachers anyway. So yeah that’s the only reason I have it. I don’t love it, but it is what it is. I mean I’ve used it now and I’m following you know certain pages and what not but I still don’t love social media. If I had to like right now and didn’t need it I would just totally delete the account right now and forget all about it because I said I don’t love social media but here it is. I mean, I guess it’s good that this is available for people who want that I just hope that someday this Apple actually you know become 100% accessible if it is supposed to be designed for people with disabilities.

“The thing is, when it comes to disability spaces, I have no problem with them. I think that regardless of what I personally feel, they are necessary—necessary and important. They’re important for everyone: for those who were born into that space, and for those who come into it later on. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with it. I don’t see having a disability-related space as isolating myself from the general population. I’m still on Facebook, I’m still on Twitter, I’m still on YouTube. I have social media. I may not be as active on there as I once was, but that has more to do with time, responsibilities, and being a different person than I was at 15 or 16. Having a disability-only space doesn’t mean I’m cutting myself off. If anything, I have to exist with the general population whether I want to or not. So having that level of control and choice—being able to say, yes, this is my space—there’s nothing wrong with that.

Now, I won’t deny that our community can be harsh to each other—sometimes even more so than the general population. There’s too much division within the disability community. And sure, people will argue that ‘people are people,’ but the context matters. It’s like someone telling you all people are fake. Yes, fake people exist everywhere, but the context is what makes it different. Someone being fake in the sense of lying to you about money, opportunities, or access is a lot more damaging than John lying to me about going to the party last night when really he didn’t want to take me with him. Same word, different weight. Anyone who says ‘oh well, people are people no matter where you go’ doesn’t understand that sometimes there’s a very specific, blind-specific context to what’s happening. And that’s why disability spaces matter. Even if I deliberately decided I’m only going to hang out with other disabled people—that would be my choice. I still have to interact with the general public every single day. It’s no different than people who join a yoga club, or a tech club, or any group based on shared interests. That doesn’t mean they only ever interact with yoga people, or tech people, or dancers, or singers, or people who eat chicken. It means they value a space where they share common ground.

I have prepared myself in advance for all sorts of offensive reactions from accusations to harsh and dismissive responses, even though I hope I don't get any, but the thing is that one's inability to express oneself in environments or media where broader masses are addressed tends to be correlated with being more overconfident, selfish, arrogant, narcissistic, stubborn, sensitive and aggressive or emotionally reactive in general, possibly in an attempt to convey some sense of pride, resilience, endurance, strength, self-sufficiency or whatever you name it. The sighted gather around common interests mostly because they like the same thing rather than because they feel lonely and subject to discrimination and humiliation, as opposed to many visually-impaired people who don't care that much about how others see or perceive them and what others think about them, possibly because they don't see others and just assume it's the same for everyone else (i.e., no one sees them either). Even some of those who are somewhat aware that a broader world exists around the comfort zone in which they choose to confine themselves, still prefer their tiny, artificially-constructed world to one that's larger and hence doesn't revolve around them.

Yeah, but what I don't understand is why it isn't accessible from the get go. If it were a mainstream social media app I would be more forgiving of that, but this is specifically an app for disabled people. It just seems like a basic thing to do, making sure that disabled people can actually use your app before you release it. Because if I were making an app like this, I wouldn't even think about releasing it to the public until I was positive that at least all basic functionality is accessible to the target audience.

If this app is for all disabilities then why are some buttons unlabeled for Voiceover? Think devs may wanna give that marketing another go.