Factors that Influence the Use of Accessible Technology

The reasons why individuals use accessible technology (as discussed in the previous section) confirm that accessible technology is useful and beneficial to a wide range of computer users, with and without difficulties and impairments. The reasons that all types of computer users gave for using accessible technology are that it makes the computer easier to use, more convenient, and more comfortable to use. To further understand why some individuals use accessible technology and others do not, it is important to understand the factors that influence the use of accessible technology.

Computer experience and confidence using a computer are two key factors that influence the use of accessible technology, both of which are lower among individuals with difficulties/impairments who need accessible technology the most. The following section discusses computer experience and confidence and provides details about how computer users learn about accessible technology

Computer Experience Influences the Use of Accessible Technology

Participants were asked about their experience performing various computer tasks that ranged in difficulty (examples of tasks include installing new software and transferring files over a network) as well as their self-assessed experience rating.¹¹ Responses to these questions were used to develop low, medium, and high computer experience levels. This computer experience level was then examined to see how an individual's computer experience influences their use of accessible technology.

Computer experience plays an important role in determining whether an individual uses accessible technology. Among those with difficulties and impairments, computer users with higher computer experience are more likely to use accessible technology. Of computer users with mild or severe difficulties/impairments:

• 46% have a low level of computer experience and use accessible technology.
• 70% have a medium level of computer experience and use accessible technology.
• 88% have a high level of computer experience and use accessible technology.

Figure 14 presents two charts that compare computer experience among individuals with mild difficulties/impairments to that of computer users with severe difficulties/impairments. Computer users with severe difficulties/impairments have lower levels of computer experience on average than computer users with mild difficulties/impairments. Specifically:

Of computer users with mild difficulties/impairments:

• 25% have a low level of computer experience
• 40% have a medium level of computer experience
• 35% have a high level of computer experience

Of computer users with severe difficulties/impairments:

• 31% have a low level computer experience
• 41% have a medium level computer experience
• 28% have a high level computer experience

Figure 14: Computer Experience among Computer Users with Difficulties/Impairments

Figure 15 shows the influence of low, medium, and high levels of computer experience has on the rate of use of accessible technology among computer users with mild or severe difficulties/impairments. The use of accessible technology is higher among individuals with severe difficulties/impairments who have low or medium levels of computer experience than among individuals with mild difficulties/impairments who also have low or medium levels of computer experience. However, the use of accessible technology among those with mild difficulties/impairment and a high level of computer experience (89%) is slightly higher than among those with severe difficulties/impairments and a high level of computer experience (87%).

Figure 15: Computer Experience and the Use of Accessible Technology Among Computer Users with Difficulties/Impairments

Individuals with mild difficulties/impairments are slightly more likely to use accessible technology than are those with severe difficulties/impairments. Low levels of computer experience dramatically reduce the use of accessible technology.

While individuals with severe difficulties/impairments are more likely to overcome a low level of computer experience in order to use accessible technology, they are also much more likely to have a low level of computer experience. This higher use of accessible technology among those with a low level of computer experience and severe difficulties/impairments most likely reflects the fact that the use of accessible technology is often essential for this segment of computer users to be able to use a computer.

Computer experience has a significant influence on whether an individual uses accessible technology. When comparing the use of accessible technology among computer users with low, medium, and high computer experience, the differences are much more significant than the differences in the use of accessible technology when comparing computer users with mild or severe difficulties/impairments.

Having higher level of computer experience appears to be a more important motivating factor for using accessible technology than does the existence or severity of the difficulties or impairments they are intended assist. This finding highlights how influential computer experience is in determining accessible technology use.

Computer Confidence Influences the Use of Accessible Technology

The second most important determinant for using accessible technology is an individual's level of confidence in using a computer. Computer confidence is determined by assessing respondents' answers to a range of attitudinal questions about technology and questions about knowledge and understanding of computers and comfort level changing computer settings. Participants were classified as having low, medium, or high levels of computer confidence.

Figure 16 shows computer confidence levels for computer users with mild or severe difficulties/impairments. Specifically:

Of computer users with mild difficulties/impairments:

• 25% have a low level of computer confidence.
• 37% have a medium level of computer confidence.
• 38% have a high level of computer confidence.

Of computer users with severe difficulties/impairments:

• 29% have a low level of computer confidence.
• 36% have a medium level of computer confidence.
• 35% have a high level of computer confidence.

Figure 16: Computer Confidence Among Computer Users with Difficulties/Impairments

While the differences between computer confidence levels of computer users with mild difficulties/impairments and those with severe ones are not as large as they are for computer experience, computer users with severe difficulties/impairments are likely to have lower levels of computer confidence.

Figure 17 shows how higher levels of computer confidence increase the rate of use of accessible technology for computer users with mild or severe difficulties/impairments. Higher computer confidence levels are associated with higher rates of use of accessible technology.

Figure 17: Computer Confidence and the Use of Accessible Technology Among Computer Users with Difficulties/Impairments

Computer Experience and Confidence Are Independent Factors that Influence the Use of Accessible Technology

Among all adults, attitudes toward technology influence computer use—those who are the most interested in technology, who think that technology is important, and who are less likely to be intimidated by technology are most likely to use computers. As technology has diffused throughout our society, individuals who are less comfortable or less optimistic about technology have had to overcome their hesitation and become computer users. However, when asked their views toward technology, these individuals continue to express their overall discomfort, lack of confidence when using computers, and pessimism toward technology.¹²

In this study, many individuals reported a lack of confidence in using computers yet also reported a high level of computer experience. Computer experience and continued computer use often lead individuals to become more confident about using a computer, but this varies among each individual. Previous studies indicate that a person's tolerance for risk, background, and comfort level all impact how confident they feel about using technology.

To further understand this dynamic, consider an individual who has used a computer for over 20 years and therefore has a high level of computer experience but is still not confident when changing their computer options and prefers to leave their computer as-is. This individual might feel very uncomfortable if someone else uses their computer and changes the fonts, for example, and will likely feel very apprehensive about changing their settings because of a concern of something going wrong with their computer. In contrast, an adolescent with little computer experience may be extremely confident making changes to computer settings due to having high levels of risk tolerance and self-confidence and feeling at ease with technology in general.

This dynamic between computer experience and computer confidence is important to examine because both computer experience and computer confidence independently influence the use of accessible technology. Figure 18 illustrates this dynamic by providing a table that shows the percent using accessible technology among nine different segments of computer users. The table shows that the percentage using accessible technology increases with high levels of confidence and experience—higher levels of computer experience or higher levels of computer confidence result in higher use of accessible technology whereas lower levels of computer experience or lower levels of computer confidence result in lower use of accessible technology.

Figure 18: High Levels of Computer Experience and Confidence Increase Use of Accessible Technology

Base: US 18- to 64-year old computer users with mild or severe difficulties/impairments

However, levels of computer experience and computer confidence are lower among individuals with difficulties/impairments who need accessible technology the most. This presents a challenge for the industry because the individuals who need accessible technology the most are currently less likely to be able to use it.

Accessible technology is a relatively new technology and is lower on the adoption curve than is overall computer use, so it is not surprising that computer experience and confidence, which limited the use of computers a decade ago, are limiting accessible technology use today.

How Individuals Learn About Accessible Technology

Because computer experience and confidence are key influential factors for using accessible technology, it is important to understand how computer users learn about the accessible technology they use. Awareness of accessible technology does not indicate knowledge of how to find, purchase, install, or use accessible technology. In general, the use of accessible technology requires that an individual seek it out.

This section discusses how individuals learn about both accessibility options/utilities and assistive technology products and describes the purchase considerations and process for assistive technology products.

How Individuals Learn About Accessibility Options and Utilities

Participants in the study were asked to select the sources from which they learned about the accessible technology they use (and were allowed to select more than one source).

Among computer users who currently use built-in accessibility options and utilities, individuals report learning about accessibility options and utilities most frequently through:

• Discovering them on their own (58%)
• Documentation (40%)
• Friends and family members (38%)

More than half of computer users with difficulties/impairments report learning about accessibility options and utilities by discovering them on their own. Given how influential an individual's computer experience and confidence are on the use of accessible technology, it is not surprising that a prevalent way individuals learn about accessible technology is through discovering it on their own.

Although the discoverability of accessibility options/utilities seems relatively high being that 58% of users of accessibility options discover it on their own, a significant gap exists between awareness and use of accessibility options/options among computer users with difficulties/impairments who most need this technology. For example, 79% of computer users with visual difficulties/impairments are aware of display options that would make their computer screen easier to see and read, but only 57% use display options. Even though computer users with mild and/or severe difficulties/impairments are likely to benefit from the use of these options, usage remains lower than awareness because computer users do not recognize that accessibility options/utilities will benefit them or they do not know how to find and/or use them.

How Individuals Learn About Assistive Technology Products

Computer users who use assistive technology products learn about these products from a wider variety of sources. Individuals learn about the assistive technology products they use most frequently through:

• Friends and family members (33%)
• Discovering them on their own (24%)
• Information online (16%)

These top three sources account for only 73% of the individuals who use assistive technology, unlike the top three sources for built-in accessibility options and utilities which amounts to 136%. Because survey respondents were able to select all of the ways in which they learn about assistive technology products, the lower total for the top three sources reflects both the diversity of ways in which people learn about assistive technology products and the fact that they tend to have less sources through which they learn about them. The other sources from which people learn about assistive technology include their employers, product documentation, a sales clerk at a computer store, or publications such as newsletters and magazines.

In general, the use of accessible technology—particularly accessibility options/utilities—depends far too greatly on an individual seeking it out or discovering it on their own, which is more likely among computer users with higher levels of computer experience and confidence.

Purchase Considerations and Process When Selecting Assistive Technology Products

Most computer users with difficulties/impairments (80%) are aware that assistive technology products are available; however, their awareness seems to stop with name recognition. Only 54% report they know where to buy assistive technology products.

A large segment of the target market for assistive technology products do not even know if these products will enhance their computing experience. When users of assistive technology products were asked if additional assistive technology products would enhance their computing experience, only 21% of computer users with severe difficulties/impairments and 17% of computer users with mild difficulties/impairments believe that additional assistive technology products could enhance their computing experience. Perhaps more striking is that many do not know if other assistive technology products would enhance their computing experience—35% of computer users with mild difficulties/impairments, and 39% of computers with severe difficulties/impairments, report they did not know if additional assistive technology products would enhance their computing experience.

Many assistive technology owners receive assistance from friends, family members, or their employer when deciding what to purchase and when setting up the product. Among assistive technology owners, more than half (51%) had a friend or family member purchase the product and 40% had a friend or family member install the product; 12% report their employer purchased the product and 14% said that their employer installed the product. This is consistent with the data reported previously that most individuals who use assistive technology products learn about them through friends, family members, or by discovering assistive technology products on their own.

Whether an individual purchases and installs an assistive technology product depends on how an individual learns about the products. Those who discovered the products on their own are more than twice as likely to have bought the products themselves (60% versus 30%) than those who do not discover the products on their own. Similarly, those who learned about the product through a friend or family member are nearly 3 times as likely to have had a family member or friend purchase the product for them. Among assistive technology owners, 42% who heard about the product through their employer had their employer purchase the product, compared with only 7% of those who discovered them on their own.

Assistive technology owners on average are satisfied with the products they own and do not report price as a concern. When asked to rate the price of assistive technology products on a scale from 1 to 5 with 1 meaning "Too inexpensive" and 5 meaning "Too expensive," most participants rated price at a 3 or lower. However, price sensitivity is greater for those computer users who do not currently own assistive technology products. Among computer users with difficulties/impairments, 28% with mild difficulties/impairments and 32% with severe difficulties/impairments report there is an assistive technology product that they do not own now but would purchase if it became more affordable. Additionally, 17% of computer users with mild difficulties/impairments and 28% of computers with severe difficulties/impairments report they considered purchasing some assistive technology products but decided not to make the purchase because it was too expensive.

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¹¹This section on Factors that Influence the Use of Accessible Technology is based on Phase II survey data
¹²Forrester Research's 2003 Benchmark report shows the relationship between technology optimism and technology adoption. Technology optimists are more likely than technology pessimists to adopt most technologies; as adoption progresses, the percent of adopters who are pessimists increases.

(A Research Report Commissioned by Microsoft Corporation and Conducted by Forrester Research, Inc., in 2004)