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Intersecting Liminality: Acquiring a Smartphone as a Blind or Low Vision Older Adult

Isabela Figueira, Yoonha Cha, Stacy M. Branham

TL;DR

This study investigates how BLV older adults acquire smartphones, addressing gaps in understanding when aging, disability, and technology intersect. Using a constructivist grounded theory approach with 22 participants, the authors identify three core themes: the liminal experience of acquiring a smartphone, the re acquisition of devices during later vision loss, and the role of mutual aid within the blind community in facilitating transition. The authors introduce Intersecting Liminality, a framework for analyzing how multiple marginalized identities and transitions jointly shape technology adoption and identity. The work advances HCI by highlighting the dynamic, interconnected nature of disability, aging, and tech learning, and by informing more nuanced, community grounded interventions for assistive technology adoption. These insights have practical implications for designing accessible learning resources and support networks that acknowledge overlapping life transitions.

Abstract

Older adults are increasingly acquiring smartphones. But acquiring smartphones can be difficult, and little is known about the particular challenges of older adults who are additionally blind or losing their vision. We shed light on the social and technical aspects of acquiring smartphones with vision loss, based on deep qualitative interviews with 22 blind or low vision (BLV) older adults aged 60 and over. Through our grounded theory analysis, we found that BLV older adults experience liminality as they acquire smartphones and transition through re-acquiring smartphones as they become blind, and they can transition through liminality by participating in mutual aid within the blind community. We contribute the notion of "Intersecting Liminality," which explains the marginalizing experience of simultaneously transitioning through vision loss, aging, and technology acquisition. We contend that Intersecting Liminality can serve as a framework that centers the dynamic nature of disability to help our community generate a more nuanced understanding of technology acquisition and more effective assistive interventions.

Intersecting Liminality: Acquiring a Smartphone as a Blind or Low Vision Older Adult

TL;DR

This study investigates how BLV older adults acquire smartphones, addressing gaps in understanding when aging, disability, and technology intersect. Using a constructivist grounded theory approach with 22 participants, the authors identify three core themes: the liminal experience of acquiring a smartphone, the re acquisition of devices during later vision loss, and the role of mutual aid within the blind community in facilitating transition. The authors introduce Intersecting Liminality, a framework for analyzing how multiple marginalized identities and transitions jointly shape technology adoption and identity. The work advances HCI by highlighting the dynamic, interconnected nature of disability, aging, and tech learning, and by informing more nuanced, community grounded interventions for assistive technology adoption. These insights have practical implications for designing accessible learning resources and support networks that acknowledge overlapping life transitions.

Abstract

Older adults are increasingly acquiring smartphones. But acquiring smartphones can be difficult, and little is known about the particular challenges of older adults who are additionally blind or losing their vision. We shed light on the social and technical aspects of acquiring smartphones with vision loss, based on deep qualitative interviews with 22 blind or low vision (BLV) older adults aged 60 and over. Through our grounded theory analysis, we found that BLV older adults experience liminality as they acquire smartphones and transition through re-acquiring smartphones as they become blind, and they can transition through liminality by participating in mutual aid within the blind community. We contribute the notion of "Intersecting Liminality," which explains the marginalizing experience of simultaneously transitioning through vision loss, aging, and technology acquisition. We contend that Intersecting Liminality can serve as a framework that centers the dynamic nature of disability to help our community generate a more nuanced understanding of technology acquisition and more effective assistive interventions.
Paper Structure (33 sections, 1 figure, 2 tables)

This paper contains 33 sections, 1 figure, 2 tables.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Related Work
  3. Life Transitions, Liminality, and Technology
  4. Older adults' smartphone acquisition and adoption
  5. Methods
  6. Participants
  7. Procedure
  8. Analysis
  9. Findings
  10. Liminality of Acquiring a Smartphone as a Blind Older Adult
  11. Becoming a Smartphone User
  12. From Unimaginable to Indispensable
  13. Perpetual State of Learning
  14. Back to Square One
  15. Social Exclusion
  16. ...and 18 more sections

Figures (1)

  • Figure 1: Intersecting Liminality theorizes the ways in which multiple concurrent life transitions can intersect and compound, drawing individuals back into (persistent) liminality.