National Association of the Deaf

How Deaf and Hard of Hearing Americans are Using Instant Messaging and E-mail at Home and at Work

The National Association of the Deaf recently asked people about their use of Instant Messaging (IM), email, TTY, and relay services. We thought you’d like to know what they told us.

The Verizon Foundation provided the funds to conduct the study. We worked with Hofstra University, on Long Island, on the project. Hofstra used new software that posts questionnaires on a Web server. Respondents just clicked on the Web address, answered the questions, and that was that – no printing, no mailing, and no delay.

People enjoyed this survey. An amazing 884 responses were received in just a few weeks. The respondents included 566 deaf, 214 hard of hearing, and 72 hearing adults. Most were between 25 and 55 years of age. Their household incomes tended to be in the $25,000 to $50,000 range, although a good number had family incomes below and above those levels. Most had at least some college education; two thirds (66%) were college graduates.

Survey Results

Instant Messaging

Respondents used IM at home but not as much at work. Three out of every four respondents (75%) reported using IM at home. By contrast, just one in three (35%) use it at work. Many people told us that their employers block IM as a matter of office policy. Others said that they do not have phones nor computers at work. Often, this was because of the nature of their jobs (e.g., auto mechanic). Respondents varied a lot in how often they use IM. Some told us they use it all day, every day, even having two or three IM conversations going on at one time. The more common answer was "3 to 5 IM’s per day, on average". On the whole, respondents said their use of IM has increased greatly over the past couple years.

Those who use and like IM gave many reasons. The 100% visual nature of IM was often mentioned. The interactivity of it appeals to many people. One person said, for example, "If I don’t understand something, I can immediately interrupt and get clarification." People like the fact that IM is full duplex – both parties can type at the same time (unlike TTY and relayed conversations). They also commented that they are able to convey emotion on IM, by choosing smiley faces, worried faces, or surprised faces.

They also told us that knowing who is online at any given time is a big plus. "No phone tag," said one person. "No dialing," added another. People reported copying IM chats into e-mails and even into Word documents "without having to retype, reformat" as one person put it.

Drawbacks were mentioned, too. Some people refuse to use IM at all. Many felt that IM is an invasion of privacy (as one person put it, "I don’t want to be that accessible to people"). Others told us that they dislike the medium’s expectation that they will respond instantly, without taking the time to reflect on what others type. Many said that IM is distracting – they dislike being interrupted during a project or at other inconvenient times. They felt that e-mail was preferable, because it can be read and responded to at the recipient’s convenience.

Email

As with IM, people told us they tend to use email more at home than at work. Virtually all (97%) use email at home, while three out of every four (74%) use it at work. In interpreting these results, it is important to bear in mind that the survey was conducted electronically. Every respondent had access to the Internet from home, from work, or both, so it is no surprise that most have email, as well. People who do not have email were not likely to take part in the study.

Respondents reported heavy use of email. Nine in ten (91%) said they send and receive more emails at home today than three years ago; two in three (66%) do at work. The volume of emails varies greatly among respondents, from about 3 or 4 to over 250 per day. It was not uncommon for people to tell us they get 100 or more emails daily. A lot of people told us that they use e-mail for conversations that they once held via TTY or relay. They added that they like the fact that email, unlike phone conversations, are virtually free to them (no phone charges, especially no long-distance fees).

Type of Connection

At home, respondents tend to have dial-up (narrowband) Internet service provider (ISP) connections. Of those who have any kind of Internet service at home, a little more than half (56%) have dial-up service. One in four (24%) have a high-speed cable-modem connection and another 10% have a high-speed Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) connection at home. Thus, roughly one in three have some kind of high-speed broadband connection (cable modem or DSL).

At the office, among those with some type of Internet connection, 39% have a very high-speed connection (T1, etc.), 27% have a DSL connection, and 17% have a cable-modem connection. In all, the vast majority (83%) have some high-speed connection (T1, DSL, cable modem). Just 17% have dial-up service at work.

Experiences with High-Speed "Broadband" Connections

We asked people who have had experience with high-speed connections (T1, DSL, cable modem, etc.) to talk about their experiences. Those who have a high-speed connection generally feel that it makes their IM communications better and more enjoyable. Those who like high-speed connections said that these are "like the phone" – service is just a click away. Several added comments about using video conferencing and video interpreting. They like the video quality that broadband makes possible. However, most do not have Windows XP, so have not had the opportunity to use IM and video simultaneously through that operating system.

We asked if broadband makes IM communications less valuable to them. Few said that – just 13% of those with high-speed connections at home and only 9% of those with high-speed connections at work. Usually, if they thought broadband made IM less valuable it was because they felt it interrupted them while they were doing something else. (They may not know how to turn off the IM feature.) Others said "I like to sit and think before I respond – IM does not allow that" or words to that effect.

Conclusions

The NAD is pleased with these results from our first "online survey" using this new software. In fact, we are already thinking of how we can use this technology in other ways! The results of this study suggest that NAD members and others in the deaf and hard of hearing community are making good use of today’s electronic communications. We were especially pleased to see how many have high-speed broadband connections. Of those who do, the "always on" nature of broadband clearly improves communication, especially with IM.

The study gives us pause in two areas. First, we were disturbed to see how many respondents said that their employers have official policies forbidding use of IM. From what respondents told us, it seems that IM is a good means of inter-personal communications in the office. It is 100% visual, it is immediate, and people find that they can ask for clarification as needed. For all these reasons, it might be that IM could be a possible "reasonable accommodation" for many employers. We understand that some employers may wish to discourage use of IM, fearing that people will be distracted by IM. That being noted, the fact remains that IM enables deaf, hard of hearing, and hearing co-workers to enjoy meaningful, accessible, and fast communications. NAD staff are considering whether the Association should encourage employers to take this view of IM. We would appreciate your thoughts on this. Second, we were disturbed to learn that many deaf and hard of hearing adults apparently do not know how to make selective use of IM. Whether offered by America Online, Yahoo, Microsoft Network, or some other provider, IM generally comes with sign-on and sign-off privileges. It may be that the NAD should post at its Web page and perhaps publish in other media suggestions on using IM, especially how to turn it off.