The study was commissioned by the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to analyse the factors shaping low rates of adoption of home broadband services in low-income and other marginalised communities.

Social media is revolutionising Internet communications and for people with disabilities this new phenomenon has the potential to remove many of the barriers faced when socialising and networking. However, there are still many access issues facing disabled users. So, is social media becoming a tool for social inclusion, or simply creating new barriers?

Despite figures suggesting that Australia is a high consumer of information and communication technologies (ICT), it is well documented that the pattern of this consumption is not spread evenly across the population; a 'digital divide' exists. This paper presents data on the access and usage of ICT (computers and the Internet) by 3,404 households and 6,874 children from financially disadvantaged backgrounds.