Cyber-Me – Analyzing the Effects of Perceived Stigma of Physically Disabled People on the Disguise of the Real Self in Virtual Environments

Several studies reveal the option to disguise a disability in online interaction, but none sufficiently analyzes the various factors contributing to a disguise. The primary aim of this paper is to quantify the impact of social psychological factors like stigma consciousness (i.e. expectation of prejudice and discrimination) and self-consciousness on the disguise of the real self in online environments among people with physical disabilities. This paper uses data from an online survey with 130 participants to construct a conceptual model related to these factors. Findings reveal that stigma consciousness positively impacts the disguise of the real self. While the body and a physical disability may not be present in the online environment, it plays an important role in how people with disabilities present themselves when they expect stigmatization

Specialized Information Systems for the Digitally Disadvantaged

A number of specialized information systems for the digitally disadvantaged (SISD) have been developed to offset the limitations of people less able to participate in the information society. However, contributions from social identity theory and social markedness theory indicate that SISD can activate a stigmatized identity and thus be perceived unfavorably by their target audience. We identify two mechanisms by which functional limitations affect a digitally disadvantaged person’s adoption decision: (1) adoption decision as shaped through technology perceptions (i.e., perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and perceived access barriers), and (2) adoption decision as shaped through marked status awareness (i.e., stigma consciousness). We test our contextualized research model on digitally disadvantaged users with physical and/or sensory disabilities. Results of our mediation analysis show that the individuals who have the most to gain from SISD use (i.e., those with greater perceived functional limitations) are doubly disadvantaged: as a group, they find it more challenging to use SISD and are also more sensitive to the fear of being marked as disadvantaged or vulnerable