© The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com Empirical Article Technology Use Among Adults Who Are Deaf and Hard of Hearing: A National Survey Michella Maiorana-Basas * , Claudia M. Pagliaro Michigan State University Claudia M. Pagliaro is now at the Department of Specialized Education Services, University of North Carolina, Greensboro. Received September 17, 2013; revisions received December 30, 2013; accepted February 7, 2014 As society becomes increasingly more dependent on technol- ogy, information regarding the use, preference, and accessibility of commonly used devices and services among individuals who are deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) is crucial. Developing tech- nologies that are functional and appropriately accessible allows persons who are DHH to fully participate in society, education, and business while also providing opportunities for personal and professional advancement. Although a few international studies have addressed the technology use of individuals who are DHH, none exist that focus on the needs, preferences, and accessibility of current Internet- and mobile-based technologies. Consequently, a national survey was conducted in the United States to determine the preference, frequency of use, and acces- sibility of various technologies (hardware, software, websites) by adults who are DHH and living in the United States. Findings indicate frequent use of smartphones and personal computers, specifically for text-based communication and web surfing, and little use of Teletypewriter/Telecommunications Device for the Deaf. Website feature preferences include pictures and text, and captions over signed translations. Some results varied by demographics. As mobile- and Internet-based technologies become an ever-present and indispensable part of daily life, acces- sibility for all people must be examined and addressed. Technology has the potential to reduce isolation, increase independence, and provide educational, finan- cial, and social opportunities for users; yet, barriers and inconsistencies may exist in both hardware and software, as well as on the Internet, that can limit access to information and opportunities, particularly for indi- viduals with unique needs (Kaye, 2000) such as those who are deaf and hard of hearing (DHH; National Association of the Deaf [NAD], 2012). Persons who are DHH have always looked to new technologies with anticipation; however, there seems to have been an historic “one step forward, two steps back” with regards to DHH persons and technology. For exam- ple, in 1876, Alexander Graham Bell’s effort to electroni- cally transmit speech, intended to assist DHH persons, produced the telephone, a device that essentially further alienated DHH persons as more and more of the general public used the telephone instead of face-to-face conver- sations or letters to communicate. In the 1960s, Robert Weitbrecht, a scientist who was deaf himself, invented the acoustic coupler which allowed DHH persons to communicate over the telephone via a teletypewriter (TTY) Lang, 2000. Although the technology opened up long-distance communication to DHH persons widen- ing their social participation, they still were limited to communicate with only those having a Teletypewriter/ Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TTY/TDD). Today many people around the world obtain infor- mation related to education, business, news, and events via the Internet through computers and various mobile- based technologies. The number of Internet users worldwide has more than doubled since 2007, reach- ing 2.27 billion users worldwide in 2012 (Pingdom, *Correspondence should be sent to Michella Maiorana-Basas, Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology and Special Education, Michigan State University, Erickson Hall, 620 Farm Lane, East Lansing, MI 48824. (e-mail: maiora12@msu.edu). doi:10.1093/deafed/enu005 Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education Advance Access published March 24, 2014 at University of North Carolina at Greensboro on March 28, 2014 http://jdsde.oxfordjournals.org/ Downloaded from