Investigation of Internet Usage and Social Exclusion - Social Inclusion of Individuals Who Diagnosed Orthopaedic Disability

The purpose of this research is to examine the impact of internet usage in the social relations of orthopaedic disabled individuals and to display the impact of internet on social exclusion or inclusion while orthopaedic disabled individuals are going on with their lives. Participants of this study consist of 39 disabled individuals in total, 33% (n=13) of whom are females and 67% (n=26) are males who were determined with criterion sampling methods in Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. The questionnaire developed by K？ten and Erdo？an in 2014 was used in order to determine the demographic information of orthopaedic disabled individuals and social exclusion scale was employed to identify their social exclusion status and internet usage features. According to the results obtained from the research, it was found out that orthopaedic disabled individuals who do not use internet for fun, or watch TV, series, movies, music, documentary or entertainment programs, participating in chat rooms and seeking information felt themselves socially excluded. In conclusion studies conducted on individuals with orthopaedic disabilities mention a point in common. Being in working life, doing sports, self-esteem and not living alone are related to the socialization and being among people of individuals with orthopaedic disabilities. This paper displayed that internet usage has a positive impact on individuals with orthopaedic disabilities in terms of social inclusion. Although the topics of other studies are different, results are supporting each other and each study display the positive impacts of social inclusion of individuals with orthopaedic disabilities. It is recommended that qualitative studies should be conducted so that different variables which affect the social exclusion levels of individuals with orthopaedic disabilities can be displayed and more in-depth knowledge can be acquired