Real talk: To be young

2 minutes read

If you've convinced yourself that young users don't need accessibility, you're dead wrong.

Young people don't use screen readers!

I don't know where people got that from. I was in college and right next to me in two political science classes was a college student who was blind. Tell them that when they try to use apps. Or tell it to the gamer with repetitive strain injury navigating by voice control. Or to me who can't track a mouse cursor when I'm overwhelmed. Okay, granted, I'm not that young any more.

But they can figure it out, they're tech-savvy!

The classic "let them suffer, no pain no gain" strategy. I've yet to see anyone enjoy hacking through broken tab order or deciphering low-contrast text when all they want is to get on with their day. Being young doesn't mean they'll tolerate laziness.

And anyway, our analytics don't show disabled users!

How are you tracking their frustration, I wonder!? And could the low numbers be because your product excluded them from the start?

1 in 4 adults has some form of disability. Many conditions, like colour blindness, dyslexia or chronic pain, are completely invisible. Not nonexistent. Invisible.

If your only defense is "our users don't need accessibility," you're not building for the real world. You're building for a fantasy land where everyone is abled, patient and obsessed with your product.

Here's some food for thought. "Young" users don't stay young forever. People age. And when they do, they'll still want to use your product. If you let them.

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