Naomi Bitman
The Performance of the Disabled in (Online) Social Networks
This study deals with various elements that surround choices of disabled individuals in terms of how they choose to present themselves in online social networks. The project stems from a critical perspective of ‘studies of the disabled’ and focuses on users whose bodies are different from what society defines as ‘normative.’ This focal point is based on an analysis of identity cross-roads – users with more than one identity weakness in Israeli society. The disabilities transform into an identity with several dimensions which allows the individual to choose whether to use it and in what contexts. In this way the current study, which is founded on rich quality research, presents assorted narratives of ‘Disabilities as Identities’ which may clash, blend in with or stand along-side the many facets of the individual’s identity.
In contemporary times where disabled individuals comprise roughly a fifth of Israel’s population, and exclusions and impediments found in virtually all spheres of their lives on a regular basis, there is a determined importance in presenting an alternate perspective which thoroughly examines their functionality not by a medical gauge which compares them to a standard there is no chance they will fit but which views them as an integral and active part of society. This study marks a vital contribution to the research of social networks through its effort to expand the typical image of users and presents a realistic picture that is both more complex and accurate of disabled individuals’ experiences in a setting which comprises the dominant social framework of our era for better or worse (both good and bad).