Journal of Humanities Therapy, Humanities Institute, Kangwon National University, Korea

2023, vol.14-1, pp.49~73 https://doi.org/10.33252/jht.2023.6.14.1.49

ISSN 2765-2653(Online)

Information Sharing Behaviour of Visually Impaired Students

at the Federal College of Education (Special), Oyo, Nigeria
: A Qualitative Analysis
1)

Kemi Ogunsola*
(Senior Lecturer, University of Ibadan)
Dorcas Olasunbo Olaoye*
(Researcher, University of Ibadan)

<abstract>
The study sheds light on the kind of information shared by the
respondents, the most appropriate platforms they use, how frequently they
share information as well as the influence of activities, functionalities,
social incentives and inspiring systems on the information sharing
behaviour of persons with visual impairment (PVI). It provides answers
to four research questions. Adopted a qualitative approach, and a survey
was conducted using semi-structured in-depth interviews. Thirty out of 64
PVIs were purposively selected for interviews which were recorded and
transcribed. NVIVO Version 11 was used for analysis. The findings show
that many of the respondents prefer to share information on social media.
They shared personal information with friends for leisure rather than for
academic purposes. The researchers recommended examining practical
ways to encourage PVIs to share academic information among themselves
instead of primarily using it for leisure.

❙Key words
Assistive technologies, Information and communication technologies,
Information sharing, Social media, Visual impairment

* Department of Data and Information Science, Faculty of Multidisciplinary Studies,

University of Ibadan, Nigeria.

Journal of Humanities Therapy Vol. 14, No. 1 (2023) 49

 Ⅰ. Introduction

In every society, it has been realised that persons with visual impairment
(PVI) need information as much as sighted persons (Adetoro, 2010). They
need the information to function effectively as human beings and contribute
effectively to society; this necessitates an increase in advocacy for equal
access to information by PVI in recent times (Akano, 2017). According to
Sugiono, Denny, and Andriani (2018), human sight is highly instrumental
in acquiring information from the immediate environment. Consequently,
living with visual impairment (VI) could make information seeking,
acquisition and sharing difficult. Regardless of this, information and
communication technology (ICTs) and cyberspace have a huge impact on
the information sharing behaviour of special needs individuals in this
modern time.
Information sharing behaviour is an act of exchanging information by
people who have certain aims and using certain media (Mutia and Atmi,
2018). Effective information sharing lowers the cost and time of acquiring
information and knowledge. It prevents the wastages that come with
repeated investment in already existing knowledge resources, adds value and
promotes the creative use of resources (Babalola and Ogunsola, 2018; Mutia
and Atmi, 2018). Among the numerous information seekers and internet
users are people living with disabilities. Smith, Silver, Johnson, and Jiang
(2019) revealed that over 11% of the world's population (650 million) suffer
from a variety of disabilities. About 2.2 billion people have near or distance
vision impairment, 87% of whom live in low and middle-income countries.
Akano (2017) reports that blindness was 40% more common among women
of different age categories in Nigeria although 80% of all visual
impairments are preventable (WHO, 2018).
Visual impairment refers to a kind of limitation a person can experience
in the eye or visual system which results in loss of vision (Cain and
Fanshawe, 2019). WHO (2018) classified vision impairment as mild,

50 Kemi Ogunsola ; Dorcas Olasunbo Olaoye_ Information Sharing Behaviour of ...

moderate, and severe. To measure vision impairment, Snellen Vision Chart
is often adopted (Sue, 2007). Using the chart, mild impairment refers to
having visual acuity worse than 6/12. Persons with mild vision impairment
have 6/12 visual acuity and can only see at six meters what a person with
perfect vision can see at 12 meters (Cain and Fanshawe, 2019; Isawumi,
Ubah, Olomola, and Afolabi, 2014). A moderately visually impaired person
has a visual acuity worse than 6/18. This implies that those with moderate
visual acuity of 6/18 can see at six meters what a person with perfect vision
could see at 18 meters. Severely visually impaired individuals have a visual
acuity worse than 6/60, while blindness refers to having a visual acuity that
is worse than 3/60.
In Nigeria, about 1 million adults are estimated to be blind, while 3
million are said to be visually impaired (Sightsavers, 2014). This large
number of visually impaired citizens will likely have an impact on societal
development, because people with visual impairment may be limited
physically, socially and psychologically. They, therefore, cannot benefit
from regular social-economic activities designed for non-disabled persons,
including educational programmes. Various social difficulties may be facing
students with disabilities as documented by Blancher and Howell (2008).
Such visually impaired students cannot often interact with other adolescents
(Oladejo and Oladejo, 2011). Since communication deficits can be a
hindrance to social interaction for anyone with visual impairment.
In Nigeria, just like some other countries of the world, the special
experiences, concerns and needs of people living with disabilities are often
overlooked by leaders, policymakers and other citizens, thereby
marginalising them (Okoli, 2010). In addition to government agencies,
non-governmental agencies assist this special group in Nigeria. Examples
include Pacelli School for the Blind, Lagos; Bethesda Homes for the Blind,
Lagos; Oturkpo Blind Men’s Workshop, Oturkpo; Gindiri School for Blind
Children, Gindirin, Near Jos, Plateau State.
There are also government owned institutions for students with virtual

Journal of Humanities Therapy Vol. 14, No. 1 (2023) 51

impairment. For example; the Federal College of Education (Special), Oyo,
started as the Federal Advanced Teachers College of Special Education on
5th October 1977 but was later renamed as the Federal College of
Education (Special), Oyo (FCES, 2022). Nigeria has over 21 Federal
Colleges of Education, and 45 State and Private Colleges of Education but
only the Federal College of Education (Special), Oyo is a higher institution
designed to train teachers and other professionals in special education
(FCES, 2022).
In higher institutions, students use various platforms to connect with
others and share their lives, feelings and experiences. Anderson and Jiang
(2018) believe that social media is an important tool for connecting and
maintaining relationships with others, making a person creative, as well as
helping a person to learn more about the world. It helps them to interact
with people from diverse backgrounds, and to access and share information
about social, economic and political happenings. Such expanded exposure
makes the PVI feel a part of the global community (Smith et al., 2019) as
the use of various platforms, media and technologies promote information
sharing (Fagbeja, 2021; Lasode and Ogunsola, 2019; Ogunsola and Lasode,
2017).

Ⅱ. Statement of Problem

There are studies on visually impaired persons in Nigeria but not many
examined the dynamics of information sharing among visually impaired
persons. Most research focused on the challenges of educating visually
impaired persons (Oladejo and Oladejo, 2011; Omede, 2013). Mutia and
Atmi (2018), examined information sharing behaviour of parents of disabled
persons; Adetoro (2010) studied the reading interest and information needs
of persons with visual impairment in Nigeria while Olaoye (2016) focused
on the availability of information materials, library services accessibility and

52 Kemi Ogunsola ; Dorcas Olasunbo Olaoye_ Information Sharing Behaviour of ...

user satisfaction by persons with visual impairment. Babalola and Yacob
(2011) studied library and information services to the visually impaired with
a focus on the role of academic libraries. Other related studies include the
cyber harassment experiences of special needs students (Olanrewaju, 2020),
and factors affecting the use of mobile and computer applications by
visually impaired undergraduate students at the University of Lagos, Nigeria
(Fagbeja, 2021). However, the studies did not put information sharing
behaviour into consideration which created a gap that this study is filling.
The use of questionnaires with persons with disabilities as was done in
some of these studies, cannot provide an in-depth understanding of the
subject matter. Interview sessions using audio tapes will produce more
reliable results. This study addressed these gaps and focused attention on the
information sharing behaviours of persons with visual impairment.
This study is based on only one category of special needs students, which
is the visually impaired students. Federal College of Education Special,
Oyo, Oyo State is selected as the location for the study because the school
offers specialised education to people living with disabilities. The focus is
on all kinds of visual impairment (low, mid and total blindness) spreading
through 100 to 300-level students. The variables specified in the research
objectives and questions are types of information shared by VI students, the
frequency of information sharing, benefits derived, and the influence of
activities, materials, social incentives and inspiring systems.

Journal of Humanities Therapy Vol. 14, No. 1 (2023) 53

 Ⅲ. Objectives of the Study

The main objective of this study is to examine the information sharing

behaviour of students with visual impairment at the Federal College of
Education (Special), Oyo. The specific objectives of this study are:
1. to find out if the visually impaired students share information and what
are the main or alternative media used in information sharing
2. to investigate the kind of information the visually impaired students
share
3. to determine how often visually impaired students, share information
4. to find out the influence of activities, materials, social incentives and
inspiring systems on the information sharing behaviour of visually
impaired students

Ⅳ. Research Questions of the Study

To achieve the objectives of this study, the following questions were raised:
1. Do the virtually impaired students share information and what are the
main or alternative media used in sharing information?
2. What kind of information do the visually impaired students share in
the Federal College of Education (Special), Oyo?
3. How often do visually impaired students share information in the
Federal College of Education (Special), Oyo?
4. What is the influence of activities, functionalities, social incentives and
inspiring systems on the information sharing behaviour of visually
impaired students?

Ⅴ. Literature Review

Visual impairment can occur as a result of eye disorders or health

54 Kemi Ogunsola ; Dorcas Olasunbo Olaoye_ Information Sharing Behaviour of ...

conditions such as glaucoma, cataracts, retinal degeneration, albinism, the
muscular problem that result in visual disturbance, cornea disorder, diabetes,
retinopathy congenital disorders and infection (ConnectABILITY, 2011;
Isawumi et al., 2014). Sapp (2010) defines visual impairment as any degree
of impairment to a person's ability to see in such a way that it affects his
or her daily life. According to Sapp (2010), a virtual impairment may be
in the form of blindness or low vision. Blindness is the total absence of
vision while low vision is less severe than blindness but still affects a
person's ability to do daily activities to some extent.
It has been noted that visually impaired persons may suffer different
forms of discrimination based on stereotypes such as architectural
discrimination, and level of access to relevant information (Wang, Chen,
and Rau, 2014). Lucky and Achebe (2013) found that visually impaired
persons (VIPs) have limited access to information alongside other existing
challenges faced by other persons with physical disabilities in accessing
information (Momodu, 2013).
Access to information as well as information sharing is a component of
knowledge management and an important factor both in organisations as
well as in day-to-day activities. A critical step in knowledge acquisition is
information sharing which takes place when information or knowledge is
passed by individuals within a group. It requires that information or
knowledge is negotiated and refined until it becomes common knowledge to
everyone within the group (Yang, 2004). Information sharing behaviour
requires that information is shared by individuals and groups for a purpose
in a particular manner using certain media. It is a behaviour which emanates
from the searcher who is willing to share information within a system. This
behaviour could be examined by using Homan's Social Exchange Theory
(SET) to uncover the background of an individual or group who performs
an act of sharing information. This shows the importance and value of
information sharing among students.
Social exchange is the exchange of activities which may be tangible or

Journal of Humanities Therapy Vol. 14, No. 1 (2023) 55

intangible between at least two persons (Homans, 1974). SET explains
social change from social, psychological and sociological perspectives
referring to social change as a process of negotiated exchanges between
parties. The theory explains that human relationships are formed based on
subjective cost-benefit analysis and the comparison of alternatives (Cook
and Rice, 2006). SET is based on the premise that individuals who share
information with others will hope to also get the same or more information
from the person they shared it with. Social exchange theory views exchange
as a social behaviour which is capable of bringing economic as well as
social outcomes when people get fair outcomes from the exchanges. The
theory was adopted to explore the information sharing behaviour of visually
impaired students in the Federal College of Education (Special), Oyo - an
institution offering specialised education to people living with disabilities.

Ⅵ. Methodology

This study adopted the qualitative research design which allows the
researcher to get an in-depth insight into the study. The method is the most
appropriate for under-studying individuals who are alike and have similar
experiences and challenges (Hammarberg, Kirkman, and de Lacey, 2016). The
study attempts to understand people's perceptions, perspectives and notions of
a particular situation. The design was used to examine the information sharing
behaviour of visually impaired persons with the view of knowing what
information they share, the most appropriate platforms they use, how
frequently they share the information as well as the influence of activities,
social incentives and inspiring systems on the information sharing behaviour
of visually impaired students of Federal College of Education Special, Oyo.
The choice of this location was because the school offers specialised education
to people living with disabilities understudied. It is expected that this school
will have a large number of PVI from where a sample can be selected.

56 Kemi Ogunsola ; Dorcas Olasunbo Olaoye_ Information Sharing Behaviour of ...

 The population of the study includes all students living with visual
impairment at all three levels of study -years 1 to 3. The total population
at the time of this study was sixty-four (64) students. A purposive sampling
procedure was used to select a sample size of thirty (30) respondents. The
choice of a sample fraction was based on Morse (1994) which says that a
sample of 30-50 respondents is adequate to represent the population in a
qualitative study.

Ⅶ. Data collection method

Data were collected using semi-structured in-depth interviews.

Face-to-face interview sessions were held to enable respondents to express
themselves by supplying information and enabling the researcher to ask
further probing questions as necessary. An interview guide was prepared by
the researcher in line with the research objective and questions of the study.
Qualitative data generated from the in-depth interview were analysed
through thematic analysis and verbatim reporting in which responses were
audio recorded, transcribed and categorised into themes (nodes) using
NVIVO version 11. The findings were presented using the following:
1. Nodes - these represent the themes or topics that a study collects data on.
2. Word cloud – this is a graphical representation generated from the
frequency count of keywords obtained in the data gathered.

The software (NVIVO) generated the nodes and word cloud reported in
the research findings.

Ⅷ. Demography of Respondents

The demographics of the respondents are presented in Table 1:

Journal of Humanities Therapy Vol. 14, No. 1 (2023) 57

 [Table 1] Sociodemographic Information of the Respondents N=30

Attribute Categories Frequency

Male 20 (67%)
Gender
Female 10 (33%)
Complete blindness 13 (43.3%)
Severely visually impaired 4 (13.3%)
Ability type
Moderately visually impaired 7 (23.3%)
Mild visually impaired 6 (20%)
16-20 years 8 (27%)
Age 21-25 years 18 (60%)
26-30 years 4 (13%)
100 15 (50%)
Level 200 8 (27%)
300 7 (23%)

Data from the study also show that 12 (40%) respondents were in the
Social Studies department, 5 (17%) respondents were in the English and
Music departments, 3 (10%) were in the Political Science department and
2 (7%) came from Christian Religious Studies department. The remaining
8 (26%) respondents were in computer science, history and primary
education departments.
To ensure that the interview guide is valid, content validity was carried
out on the instrument. The content validity ensures that the content of the
interview guide meets the needs of the research objectives and questions of
the study. To ensure this, two experts in the field of special education
assessed the contents of the questions in the interview guide.

Ⅸ. Findings

This section provides answers to the research questions of this study

based on the content analysis of the interviews conducted among the
respondents.
Research Question One: Do the visually impaired students share
information and what are the main or alternative media used in sharing

58 Kemi Ogunsola ; Dorcas Olasunbo Olaoye_ Information Sharing Behaviour of ...

information?
In finding out if the visually impaired students share information and the
type of media used, the analysis showing the theme nodes and their
percentages are presented in Table 2:

[Table 2] Responses to information sharing and media used

S/N Nodes Respondents (N=30) Frequency

1 Share information daily 29 96.7%
Share on (Facebook, Telegram, Twitter,
2 29 96.7%
Instagram and LinkedIn)
3 Share by typing (with screen readers) 20 66.7%
4 Share on (Facebook and WhatsApp) 10 33%
5 Read and share via screen readers 14 46.9%
6 Share using a speech synthesizer 4 13.3%
7 Share by typing (without screen readers) 2 6.7%

The majority of the respondents 29 (96.7%) believe that they do share

information. Also, 29 (96.7%) respondents prefer to share information on
Facebook and other social media. A total of 20 (66.7%) respondents
specified that they prefer to type and post via status, and broadcast to
individuals and groups with the help of a screen reader. The result also
shows that 33% of the respondents prefer to use only Facebook and
WhatsApp to share information. A total of 4 (13.3%) respondents use
speech synthesizers while only 6.7% prefer to type and post via status, and
broadcast to individuals and groups without a screen reader.
Figure 1 shows the word cloud of information shared and the main or
alternative media respondents used in sharing information. The word cloud
was generated by NVIVO based on the frequency count of keywords found
in the responses:

Journal of Humanities Therapy Vol. 14, No. 1 (2023) 59

 [Figure 1] Word cloud of information shared by virtually impaired students

Figure 1 reveals that the most frequently used word (the biggest-sized
keyword) in the context of the question asked is “information,” followed by
“share,” “Facebook” and “WhatsApp” respectively. Below are excerpts from
transcripts that support these findings:

“I share information mostly on Facebook, WhatsApp and Google Meet. I

share by texting a message to my friends and sharing news trends. With the
use of Android phone and laptop.” (Male/25years/moderate Visual Impairment)

“I post on Facebook so that the public can see it, most likely on Facebook
and WhatsApp, I also do verbal conversation.” (Female/24years/Moderately
Visually Impaired)

“I share information through messaging. I use an app on my phone that

directs me to share information with my friends, I share news and I post
religious stuff.” (Male/22years/Blind)

“Sending and receiving messages through my email account. With the help
of some applications on my phone, I can access any medium for sharing

60 Kemi Ogunsola ; Dorcas Olasunbo Olaoye_ Information Sharing Behaviour of ...

 information. I talk and it will be recorded automatically. I share videos and
photos through accessibility (assistive technology) on the phone which guides
me as to how to navigate through my phone to get the photos I want to post
or prompt me to the camera to shoot direct. I also have an application called
“Kebu” that describes stickers, for instance, a sticker with a laughing baby or
a picture with two people, an adult and a baby.” (Male/28years/Blind)

“I share information, and to share it depends on my choice. I may decide

to send it to the public on Facebook, or my friends or even secure it. It
depends on the type of information. If I click on “what's on my mind” it will
bring out a keyboard for me to type and with special aids for visually
impaired people like “talks” and “screen reader,” I can type and share
information. I can tag my friends and attach feelings too as well as location.
I can also use my timeline. I participate in many groups and share/get
information across the groups.” (Male/25years/Moderate Visual Impairment)

Research Question Two: What kind of information do the visually

impaired students share in the Federal College of Education (Special), Oyo?
According to the research findings, the analysis showed there are five
kinds of information shared and their percentages are presented in Table 3:

[Table 3] Responses to the kind of Information shared by the visually impaired students

S/N Nodes Respondents (N=30) Frequency

1 Personal experiences for leisure 29 96.7%
2 General information and news 22 73%
3 Business related information 21 70%
4 Sports and political news 14 46.9%
5 Awareness of visual impairment 2 6.7%

It was observed that a total of 29 (96.7%) respondents stated that they

mostly share personal experiences and information with known friends for
leisure, 22 (73%) of respondents share general information and news, while
21 (70%) respondents prefer to share business-related information and have

Journal of Humanities Therapy Vol. 14, No. 1 (2023) 61

succeeded in expanding their business networks through the platforms. A
total of 14 (46.7%) respondents prefer to share sports and political news and
only 2 (6.7%) respondents prefer to read and share information about visual
impairment.
Figure 2 supported this finding by showing a diagrammatical expression
of the kind of information shared by the visually impaired students. The
result shows that many respondents share personal information more than
academic information. They also share sports and religious news with
friends and families.

[Figure 2] Kind of information shared by the visually impaired students

Figure 2 –Although the word cloud showed that “information” has the
highest frequency, the types of “information” can be “personal”,
“academic,” “sports” or “political.” Figure 2, shows that the most frequently
shared type of information is “personal,” “friends,” and “meeting.” The data
collected showed that “academic” and “news” information also occurred but
at fewer times. On the lower side, “professional,” “sport,” “political,”

62 Kemi Ogunsola ; Dorcas Olasunbo Olaoye_ Information Sharing Behaviour of ...

“trends,” “health” and “religious” had the lowest occurrence, hence, they
appeared smaller in the word cloud.
The following excerpts from the transcripts support the findings:
Excerpts from respondents who share mainly academic or educative posts;

“I love sharing personal, academic information and news.”

(Male/24years/Moderately Visually Impaired)

“I use social media to share more academic information and sometimes

personal.” (Male/24years/Blind)

“I share information about myself and my education.”

(Male/24years/Severely Visually Impaired)

“I share educational information, news and comedy.” (Male/28years/Severely

Visually Impaired)

Excerpts from respondents who share personal information:

“I share personal information, for example, my birthday or any other family

members celebrating their birthdays. Also dedicated days such as mother's
day, children's day and so on.” (Female/18years/Moderately Visually Impaired)

“I share information about my birthday, share my photos and any other

relevant academic information.” (Female/19years/Severely Visually Impaired)

Excerpts from a respondent who share general information and news:

“I share information about we living with visual impairment, sport news and
religious stuff.” (Male/26years/Blind)

Research Question Three: How often do visually impaired students share

Journal of Humanities Therapy Vol. 14, No. 1 (2023) 63

information in the Federal College of Education (Special), Oyo?
Results show that most respondents share information on daily bases as
can be seen in Table 4:

[Table 4] Responses to how often visually impaired students share information

S/N Nodes Respondents Frequency

1 Everyday 18 60%
2 Randomly within a week 4 13.4%

The results from Table 4 showed that 18 (60%) respondents indicated that
they share information every day and frequently, while 4 (13.3%)
respondents said that they share information randomly but within a week.
Figure 3, shows that the majority of the respondents share information
frequently and daily while some do so weekly.

[Figure 3] Frequency of information sharing

Figure 3 reveals that the most frequently used word in the context of the
question asked is “weekly” followed by “frequent” and “every day.”
These findings were supported by some of the excerpts from the
transcripts which are as follows:
Excerpts from respondents who share information daily:

64 Kemi Ogunsola ; Dorcas Olasunbo Olaoye_ Information Sharing Behaviour of ...

 “I share information daily. It builds my interpersonal and social relationship
with others.” (Male/26years/Severely Visually Impaired)

“I share information virtually every day.” (Female/22years/Mild Visually

Impaired)

Excerpts from respondents who share information weekly:

“I share information weekly as my friends on Facebook do approach me for

information and thereby start interacting with them by contributing my
perspectives on topics.” (Male/25years/Blind)

“I share information probably weekly when I'm able to understand what

others are passing across. With that, I'll bring out my idea and it connects me
with the people I'm relating with.” (Male/23years/Severely Visually Impaired)

Research Question Four: What is the influence of activities,

functionalities, social incentives and inspiring systems on your information
sharing behaviour?
Concerning how activities, functionalities, social incentives and inspiring
systems influence the information sharing behaviour of visually impaired
students, Table 5 shows the nodes from the various responses recorded:

[Table 5] Influence of activities, functionalities, social incentives and inspiring systems on

information sharing behaviour?

S/N Nodes Respondents Frequency

1 Free coupons, gifts and opportunities 25 83.3%
2 Meeting new friends and business opportunities 23 76.7%
3 Functionalities like download, block and mute 23 76.7%
4 Tagging option on Facebook 2 6.7%

It was noted that free coupons, gifts, opportunities and functionalities

Journal of Humanities Therapy Vol. 14, No. 1 (2023) 65

provided by the platforms influence the way 25 (83.3%) respondents share
information. Meeting new friends and business purposes were reasons 23
(76.7%) respondents share information and use functionalities like
download, block and mute on the platform. It was recorded that 2 (6.7%)
respondents said the “tag” option on Facebook helps them direct their
messages to the people they want. Figure 4 buttresses these points with a
word cloud:

[Figure 4] Activities, materials, social incentives and inspiring systems on the information sharing
behaviour of visually impaired students

Figure 4 shows that when visually impaired students have access to social
incentives, they were motivated to share information using platforms such
as Facebook, and WhatsApp. Although, they also mentioned YouTube, it
was in fewer times. Figure 4 also shows that the most frequently used
words in the context of the question asked are “information,” “share,”
“platform,” “Facebook” and “WhatsApp.” Other identified keywords that
occurred fewer times include; “incentive,” “details,” “motivate,” “friends”
and “comment.” Functionalities mentioned were “comment,” “block,” “like,”
“unfollow,” “download,” “control,” “message” and “post.” The various

66 Kemi Ogunsola ; Dorcas Olasunbo Olaoye_ Information Sharing Behaviour of ...

examples of incentives which inspire information sharing among the
respondents are access to “opportunities,” “gifts” and “coupons.”
Excerpts from the transcripts that supported these themes are as follows:

“The incentives motivate me to share more.” (Male/23years/Severely

Visually Impaired)

“If my service provider gives me bonus airtime and there’s any information
I want to share; it makes it easy for me to share.” (Male/22years/Blind)

“Oftentimes when some people that are fond of sharing information not
minding whether you are interested or not…as I have done in the past, I will
just block them.” (Male/22years/Moderately Visually Impaired)

“On Facebook. I sent a gift to someone whose video I enjoyed watching

and people do the same to me too.” (Male/28years/Blind)

Ⅹ. Discussion of Findings

Findings from this study revealed that the majority of the respondents
share information. This resonates with a previous study by Shpigelman and
Gill (2014) that revealed that challenged individuals use social media for
sharing information, especially Facebook. The result of this study shows that
the respondents share information on Facebook, WhatsApp, Telegram,
Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn. This is in line with the assertion
from Schultz, Jacobs, and Schultz (2013) that social networking appears to
hold promise for adolescent individuals with disabilities as it is an avenue
for increasing social interaction with others in what has become a
conventional method of communication. Griffiths et al. (2012) discussed
ways social media assisted individuals with disabilities in sharing
information with their doctors or in building a community, Griffiths et al.

Journal of Humanities Therapy Vol. 14, No. 1 (2023) 67

(2012) noted further that individuals with disabilities with rare conditions,
in particular, used Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace to build community.
This study negates Dobransky and Hargittai (2006) finding probably because
the study was conducted many years ago, but with the recent proliferation
of the use of social media, many people have adopted its use for
information sharing including visually impaired students.
Half of the participants specified that they preferred to type and post via
status on WhatsApp and broadcast to individuals and groups with the help
of a screen reader. Some respondents use speech synthesizers while others
prefer to type and post via status, broadcast to individuals and groups
without a screen reader. This supports the findings of Fagbeja (2021) that
mobile applications and computer software are easy to use to access
information online among students with visual impairment. Fagbeja (2020)
noted that the majority of the students with visual impairment at the
University of Lagos were able to use mobile and computer applications
effortlessly to send messages, read mail and do their assignments without
depending on the sighted for assistance.
Findings from this study revealed that the respondents mostly shared
personal experiences and information with known friends for leisure. A
large percentage of the respondents said they love to listen to the news
online. Some respondents said they love meeting new friends and expanding
their networks on social media. It was found that more respondents used
social media platforms for chatting and sharing personal information than
for academic purposes. According to Ogungbeni, Adekanye, Bamigbose, and
Sulaiman (2016), there is a growing concern that the amount of time
undergraduates spend on the Internet does not translate to effective use
concerning their academics. This is also reflected in this study as
respondents prefer to chat and read the news or trendy updates than use it
for educational purposes.
Findings from this study revealed that several participants are of the
notion that free coupons, gifts and opportunities provided by the platforms

68 Kemi Ogunsola ; Dorcas Olasunbo Olaoye_ Information Sharing Behaviour of ...

influence the way and manner they share information on the platform. It
was observed that meeting new friends on the platform and achieving
business purposes on the platform influenced the way the respondents
shared information. Other functionalities like “download,” “block,”
“unfollow” and “like” provided by the platforms also influence the way they
shared information. Incentives such as “gifts” and “coupons” such as free
airtime and internet data inspire them to share information.

Ⅺ. Limitations of the Study

This study focused on visually impaired students, it did not put other
types of disabilities into consideration.

Ⅻ. Future Research Directions

This study focuses on the information sharing behaviour of students with

visual impairment, an area for further studies would be to understudy the
impact of their information sharing behaviour on their academic
performances. Further studies could also involve students with other types
of disabilities among postgraduate students living with disabilities.

ⅫⅠ. Conclusion

The use of technological tools and social media is not yet an integral part
of the learning environment for PVI in the Federal College of Education
(Special), Oyo. Most of the students using them learn from friends and
families, and still face the limitation of isolated learning, fear of privacy and
insufficient knowledge of the use of the technological tool and social media.
Information sharing is growing and is significantly important to the special

Journal of Humanities Therapy Vol. 14, No. 1 (2023) 69

needs of the visually impaired who may not likely be hindered by their
disabilities. In this study, the respondents used their phones with the help
of some applications such as speech synthesizer, talkback and social media
platforms to share information but they tend to use it more for entertainment
purposes than academic activities.

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0410541088

Kemi Ogunsola
Dorcas Olasunbo Olaoye
E-mail : olukemi11@yahoo.com
E-mail : olaoyeolasunmbo@gmail.com

Date of the first draft received 2023. 05. 10

Date of review completed 2023. 06. 15
Date of approval decided 2023. 06. 19

Journal of Humanities Therapy Vol. 14, No. 1 (2023) 73