Digital Accessibility – Ideas in ALL

Social Technologies

Author: Neasa Boyle, PhD Researcher, Assisting Living and Learning (ALL) Institute, Department of Psychology, Maynooth University

It’s impossible to overlook how deeply technology has influenced daily life, employment, and education today. With its growing importance, education systems must adapt to ensure that students are prepared for the modern digital world and obtain the skills to navigate a technologically advanced society. However, such education streams have only been implemented in recent decades, limiting social inclusion for individuals who are out of education, training, or employment. This new demand for digital skills leaves a large proportion of the population with the responsibility of upskilling, or else facing the risk of being left behind in the current job market and, ultimately, being left unable to participate in the society.

Social Lives

Author: Emma Smith, Assisting Living and Learning (ALL) Institute Member and Post-Doctoral Researcher; recipient of the prestigious Marie Sklowdowska Curie Actions Individual Fellowship

Emma Smith

Our lives are increasingly digital. From the moment we wake up in the morning, to before we go to bed, we are connected. A recent report from the BBC suggests people are spending, on average, a third of their waking hours on mobile apps. Even in lower income contexts, 30-50% of people have been reported to be connected to mobile ‘smart’ devices. Those of us living in higher income contexts, like Ireland, are also connected in other ways – through smart watches and health tracking devices like the Oura ring, smart homes, our cars, and of course our computers. The reality is that it is becoming more and more difficult to escape a digital world.

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