Particip@tion on Internet? Young people with intellectual disabilities and identification processes on Internet

Although research on young people and the Internet is a growing field, there are few studies that illustrate conditions for young people with intellectual disabilities (ID). Previous studies have shown that young people with ID are worried about being marginalized, and that many in fact are lonelier than other young people. Internet and social networking sites might be of vital importance as a space for exploring alternative and less stigmatized identities.

This project aimed to describe and analyse how young people (age 16-20) with a mild ID interacts and participate on the Internet. More precisely, drawing upon the perspectives of young people with ID, parents and school staff, we have studied self-presentations, social relations and participation within different kinds of Internet communities. Therefore, the goal of the project was to generate knowledge concerning these complex processes, which could be useful for the nearest surrounding of adults in order to support and help young people with ID with their Internet use. The project comprised qualitative interviews with young people with ID (n=27), parents of young people with ID (n=22) and professionals in special schools (n=17). The transcribed interviews were analysed, using a thematic content analysis. The project have gathered ethical approval from the Ethical Board of West Sweden (Dnr 048-15).

A prominent finding in the study concerned the young informants being well aware of both risks and opportunities using Internet and Social Networking Sites. Consequently, the more they interacted with non-disabled peers, the more they experienced negative consequences of Internet use. One conclusion was that these circumstances rather lead to downsizing than upsizing Internet use, and as prolongation, less participation on Social Networking Sites.

Although the Internet can be a ‘free-zone’ where the young person can develop social bonds and construct their identity away from adult oversight, parents and professionals are highly present. Young people mostly feel confident but also in no need of support. Professionals and parents do consider the Internet an arena for positive opportunities, but also with risks. The professionals seemed to be more worried about the risks than the parents who state that the opportunities outweigh the disadvantages. For parents, the real risk is described as the risk of loneliness and social isolation. That parents consider the Internet to be an arena for relationships is an interesting change compared to previous research where both parents and professionals are worried about the risks of abuse etc. Overall, the young people with ID are described as a more heterogeneous group by both parents and professionals compared to previous research. The experiences of the informants are discussed in a conceptual framework of social identity, participation, positive risk-taking, sexuality and emancipation.

A comparative analysis of the results shows how social participation is negotiated and constructed in a dialectical way between young people with and without ID, but also between the young people in the study and adults in the immediate context. By applying an intersectional perspective to issues about identity formation and risk-taking on the Internet, a more relational understanding of the problems and opportunities of digital participation can be made visible. A relational understanding of getting into difficulties implies that risk and vulnerability do not always have to depend on the disability but on contextual conditions and other co-varying factors.

Considering young people’s need for autonomy, it is of great importance that parents and professionals reflect upon the ways that support can be arranged in order to empower young people with ID to participate on the Internet. Providing support for positive risk-taking on the Internet means that adults, together with young people, reflect on how possible risks can be managed rather than how risk can be avoided.

Research Area

Barn- och ungdomsvetenskap

Research environment / Institution

Barn och unga

Institutionen för individ och samhälle

Participants University West

Åsa Borgström
Martin Molin
Emma Sorbring

Project Participants external

Lotta Löfgren-Mårtenson, Malmö Universitet

Research Partner

Malmö Universitet

Research funding

Forskningsrådet för hälsa, arbetsliv och välfärd (FORTE)

Project time

2015 - 2019

Project Publications

Borgström, Å., Daneback, K. & Molin, M. (2019). Young people with intellectual disabilities and social media: a literature review and thematic analysis. Scandinavian Journal of Disability Research, 21(1), pp 129–140. DOI: https://doi.org/10.16993/sjdr.549

Löfgren-Mårtenson, L., Molin, M. & Sorbring, S. (2018). H@ssles and Hopes on the Internet – What Professionals have Encountered in Dealing with Internet Use and Sexuality among Youths with Intellectual Disabilities. Papers of Social Pedagogy, 8(1), pp 51-65. DOI: 10.5604/01.3001.0011.5851

Sorbring, E. Löfgren-Mårtenson, L., & Molin, M. (2018). Relationships and the Internet. Internet as an arena for love, sex and companionship for young people with learning disabilities. In C. Bates (Ed.) Sexuality and Learning Disabilities – A handbook. (p 133-142). Pavilion Publishing and Media Ltd.

Sorbring, E., Molin, M. & Löfgren-Mårtenson, L. (2018). Att våga utan att falla. Internet som en arena för delaktighet och relationer för unga med intellektuella funktionsnedsättningar. Barnbladet, nr 3, juni 2018, s 14-17.

Molin, M., Sorbring, E. & Löfgren-Mårtenson, L. (2017). New em@ncipatory landscapes? Young people with intellectual disabilities, Internet use and identification processes. Advances in Social Work. Vol. 18 No. 2 (Fall 2017), 645-662, DOI: 10.18060/21428

Sorbring, E., Molin, M. & Löfgren-Mårtenson, L. (2017). "I'm a mother, but I'm also a facilitator in her every-day life": Parents' voices about barriers and support for internet participation among young people with intellectual disabilities. Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace, 11(1), article 3. http://dx.doi.org/10.5817/CP2017-1-3

Löfgren-Mårtenson, L., Molin, M. & Sorbring, E (2016). Del@ktig på internet – om internetanvändande bland unga med intellektuell funktionsnedsättning. I K Daneback & E Sorbring (red.) Socialt arbete och internet. Att förstå och hantera sociala problem på nya arenor. (p 47-59). Stockholm: Liber.

Löfgren-Mårtenson, L, Sorbring, E. & Molin, M. (2015). T@ngled up in Blue: Views of parents and professionals on Internet use for sexual purposes among young people with intellectual disabilities. Sexuality & Disability. Vol. 33. Iss. 4. pp 533-544. DOI 10.1007/s11195-015-9415-7

Löfgren-Mårtenson, L, Sorbring, E. & Molin, M. (2015). T@ngled up in Blue: Views of parents and professionals on Internet use for sexual purposes among young people with intellectual disabilities. Journal of Sexual Medicine. Vol. 12. Suppl 5. pp 347-347. ISSN 1743-6095

Molin, M., Sorbring, E. & Löfgren-Mårtenson, L. (2015). Parents and Teachers Views on Internet and Social Media Usage by Pupils with Intellectual Disabilities. Journal of Intellectual Disabilities. Vol 19(1) pp 22-33. DOI: 10.1177/1744629514563558

Conference Presentations

Molin, M., Sorbring, E. & Löfgren-Mårtenson, L. Particip@tion on Internet? Pupils with intellectual disabilities and identification processes on Internet. Presentation av poster vid 23rd Annual CyberPsychology, CyberTherapy & Social Networking Conference (CYPSY23), June 26-28, 2018, Gatineau, Canada.

Borgström, Å. A literature review about young people with intellectual disabilities and social media. 15th International Cyberspace Conference 2017, November 24-25, 2017, Brno, Czech Republic.

Sorbring, E., Molin, M. & Löfgren-Mårtenson, L. Risks and Opportunities on the Internet: The Voices of Intellectually Disabled Teens' Parents. Paper presented at European Association for Research on Adolescents, September, 2016, Cadíz, Spain.

Molin, M., Sorbring, E. & Löfgren-Mårtenson, L. New em@ncipatory landscapes? Young people with intellectual disabilities, Internet use and identification processes.International Disability Workshop, June 14–16, 2016, Folkets Hus, Umeå, Sweden.

Löfgren-Mårtenson, L. Molin, M. & Sorbring, E. Sexuality, Internet and Intellectual Disability – A Study of Experiences and Views among Young People with ID and their Surroundings. IASR Host Symposium (International Academy of Sex Research), Centre of Sexology and Sexuality Studies, June 25, 2016, Malmö University, Sweden.

Löfgren-Mårtenson, L. Molin, M. & Sorbring, E. Love and Sexuality among Young
People with Intellectual Disability. Nordic Youth Research Symposium (NYRIS), June 2016, University West, Trollhättan, Sweden.

Molin, M., Sorbring, E. & Löfgren-Mårtenson, L. Risks and opportunities in new emancipatory landscapes? On young people with intellectual disabilities, Internet use and identification processes. 5th Annual ALTER-Conference: Inclusion, Participation and Human Rights in Disability Research Comparisons and Exchanges, June 30–July 1, 2016, Stockholm, Sweden.

Sorbring, E., Molin, M. & Löfgren-Mårtenson, L. Is the perception of risks and
opportunities on the Internet changing? The voices of intellectually challenged teens' parents. 13th International Cyberspace Conference 2015, November 27-28, 2015, Brno, Czech Republic.

Molin, M., Sorbring, E. & Löfgren-Mårtenson, L. Particip@tion on Internet? Pupils with intellectual disabilities and identification processes on Internet. 13th International Cyberspace Conference 2015, November 27-28, 2015, Brno, Czech Republic.

Löfgren-Mårtenson, L. Molin, M. & Sorbring, E. Experiences of the Internet, Sexuality and Intellectual Disability among Parents and Professionals. International. International Academy of Sex Research, August, 2015, Toronto, Canada.

Löfgren-Mårtenson, L., Sorbring, E. & Molin, M. Views of parents and professionals on internet use for sexual purposes among young people with intellectual disabilities.World Association for Sexual Health (WAS), July, 2015, Singapore.

Molin, M., Sorbring, E. & Löfgren-Mårtenson, L. Parents and Teachers Views on Internet and Social Media Usage by Pupils with Intellectual Disabilities. Nordic Network on Disability Research (NNDR) 13th Research Conference, May 6-8, 2015, Bergen, Norway.