Looking+Across+the+Hearing+Line,+Exploring+Young+Deaf+People's+Use+of+Web+2.0

**Looking Across the Hearing Line: Exploring Young Deaf People's Use of Web 2.0**
M/C Journal, Vol. 13, No. 3 (2010) []
 * by Nicole Matthews, Sherman Young, David Parker, and Jemina Napier**
 * Link to article:**

This article reports about a study done to see how deaf youth would use Web 2.0 tools, particularly vlogging, to communicate with little structure.
I want to admit that I allowed myself to be swayed to believe that all of the technological developments have served the deaf community immeasurably well. I'd like to share some personal experience that supported my belief first. My husband's adult neice is deaf. I can recall awkward, very long conversations shared through a relay service where she typed what she wanted said, an operator relayed that to me with voice, and I responded with voice to the operator who typed my response to her. It was awful. It was hard to have a go-between, especially if the conversation became personal or even heated with argument. Our neice loved it, but it was clear that she loved it because it was the best she had. Fast forward to 2012 and life is good! We can chat through IM on Facebook, SMS text messages, or any number of additional text-based outlets. Yay for technology, right? Wrong.

This study showed that there is a general lack of captioning and/or integrating of signed language video services on a majority of video resources online. Yet, many of us rely on YouTube and other video sources for information. What if there was no accommodation for YOU to understand these resources? That is exactly what this study showed. Yet, an interesting development was discovered as young deaf people were given opportunity to use vlogging (video blogging) to create projects. Very few used captioning themselves as a means of communicating with viewers. It could be that there was limited captioning functionality of the program used and little time to add captioning. However, it is interesting to note that they didn't routinely use videoed sign language to communicate within the product either. More often than not, visual story telling was easily used.

So, should I feel guilty for previously held belief that doors had been opened to the deaf community? I am undecided, to be honest. There is a lot of pride within the deaf community - as there should be. Yet, I can't help but think this pride sometimes gets in the way of developments that could benefit deaf individuals. In the study, the common attitude of "I can't be bothered [with the fact that there is a lack of material available to the deaf]" is quoted as being "a cool way out of an accessibility impasse." While this is a problem that still needs to be addressed, it is clear that the deaf participants in the study were willing, able, and excited to use vlogging and other Web 2.0 tools to connect to others. That is an exciting concept..

It is important to note the benefits of vlogging for the deaf. Whether they choose to use captioning, visual story telling, or even sign language, they are able to communicate ideas and concepts without reliance on a hearing person to convey or relay their words. However, the drawbacks noted above show there is work to be done.

Other sites about vlogging and/or vlogging among the deaf: Blogging and Vlogging Basics The Top 5 YouTube Vloggers and Why People Love Them Deaf Read: Deaf Blogs and Vlogs Vlogging: A Deaf Perspective