Social Media Networks Among Adult Deaf Population and Demographic Outcomes

The Internet has massively altered the global information flow in a given population. Social media, such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and others, make it easy for people who are Deaf or hard of hearing population to communicate with the rest of the world. The effect of Internet use on social relationships is still a matter of intense debate. While there is a burgeoning literature on the role of ICT in the creation of new forms of social networks, dubbed on-line communities, much less attention has been paid to the complex set of relationships which are emerging between some off-line communities and the internet, and in particular to some of the new spatiality that is emerging as a result of community-based ICT practices. This paper develops this work by focusing on the social media networks (SMN) among Deaf Population and its demographic outcomes. The paper then goes on to explore how Deaf people are using the social media to communicate with each other and how the SMN and internet is contributing to the re-spatialisation and scaling-up of Deaf community, while having other unanticipated effects on mobility of Deaf population.