Accessibility: The “Everyone” Kind of Problem.

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of accessibility-designed features.</p><p id="a11d">Recently, <a href="https://preply.com/en/blog/americas-subtitles-use/">closed captioning has been elevated to Curb-Cut Effect status.</a></p><p id="2f78">Closed captioning (or subtitles) is a feature built into digital video players that allows the auditory-impaired audience to read the audible dialogue/narration of a video. Younger generations have embraced this feature because of its usefulness on social media platforms that show video content, particularly on mobile devices. The small screen and the ability of the device to go to environments where audio may not be appropriate makes subtitles extremely useful.</p><p id="4fd3">It’s great to see tech companies guided by human behavior because, so often, it’s the other way around. This is a genuine improvement to content consumption, and people have the option to use it or not. The same could not be said for something like an algorithm that hijacks the attention of users or creates echo chambers that isolate people. Users can’t opt out of using an algorithm, they just have to live with it and suffer reduced access to the internet.</p><p id="4738">We can only hope that people will continue to guide tech companies in bigger and better ways in the future.</p><p id="f

Options

ec2">-Tim</p><p id="1524">This short essay is from the latest issue of <a href="https://the-thought-bloom.ghost.io/"><b>The Thought Bloom newsletter</b></a>, a publication written weekly by me that shares thoughtfully curated articles, tech/science spotlights, and art.</p><div id="1357" class="link-block"> <a href="https://the-thought-bloom.ghost.io/do-tech-companies-effect-how-we-behave-not-always/"> <div> <div> <h2>Accessibility, Guerrilla Street Internet, and the Insides of Instruments</h2> <div><h3>Accessibility: The "Everyone" Kind of Problem. I remember learning about a phenomenon known as the "Curb-Cut Effect" on…</h3></div> <div><p>the-thought-bloom.ghost.io</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/0*iZhbfURmxA9oH-_a)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><p id="5bd0">My goal is to help people find paths to resources that will open their minds. If you are interested in finding this work in your inbox every week for free then <a href="https://the-thought-bloom.ghost.io/">subscribe here</a>.</p><p id="2034">Cheers.</p></article></body>

From Issue 005 of the Thought Bloom newsletter

I remember learning about a phenomenon known as the “Curb-Cut Effect” on this 99PI podcast some time ago. The Curb-Cut Effect, for those who are unfamiliar:

“is the phenomenon of disability-friendly features being used and appreciated by a larger group than the people they were designed for” (Wikipedia)

The 99PI episode explains what a curb-cut is (the ramp on a sidewalk at an intersection that you walk/roll up or down when crossing a street), and retells the story of an activist named Ed Roberts who fought for these curb-cuts, and the general rights of other disabled people, in Berkley California during the 1960s.

Today we take these sidewalk features for granted, mostly because they are so ubiquitous. It’s a feature designed to help the disabled but works as a feature that benefits everyone. This is the case with a number of accessibility-designed features.

Closed captioning (or subtitles) is a feature built into digital video players that allows the auditory-impaired audience to read the audible dialogue/narration of a video. Younger generations have embraced this feature because of its usefulness on social media platforms that show video content, particularly on mobile devices. The small screen and the ability of the device to go to environments where audio may not be appropriate makes subtitles extremely useful.

It’s great to see tech companies guided by human behavior because, so often, it’s the other way around. This is a genuine improvement to content consumption, and people have the option to use it or not. The same could not be said for something like an algorithm that hijacks the attention of users or creates echo chambers that isolate people. Users can’t opt out of using an algorithm, they just have to live with it and suffer reduced access to the internet.

We can only hope that people will continue to guide tech companies in bigger and better ways in the future.

-Tim

This short essay is from the latest issue of The Thought Bloom newsletter, a publication written weekly by me that shares thoughtfully curated articles, tech/science spotlights, and art.

My goal is to help people find paths to resources that will open their minds. If you are interested in finding this work in your inbox every week for free then subscribe here.

Cheers.