Situated Embodied Affordances: Navigating Smartphone Use Practices Among People with Disabilities

Abstract

Integrating a techno-embodied perspective, mobile affordance theory, and critical disability studies, this study investigates how people with disabilities navigate everyday smartphone practices. Using a mixed-method design—combining smartphone log analysis (n = 90), field observations, and in-situ interviews (n = 20)—the study identifies four recurring smartphone use patterns: deeply embedded use, path-dependent use, hyper-checking practices, and digital disengagement. Critically, these patterns emerge from ongoing negotiations among embodied differences (e.g., physical, cognitive, and sensory conditions), mobile affordances (e.g., modality, portability, and navigability), and broader socio-technical contexts. The findings suggest that smartphone use among people with disabilities extends beyond traditional accessibility frameworks, functioning instead as a vital infrastructure of embodied governance—supporting cognitive and emotional regulation, sensory curation, and the maintenance of autonomy. By advancing the concept of embodied affordances, this study foregrounds the reciprocal relationship between diverse embodied experiences and mobile media design. Conceptualizing disability as a socio-embodied-technical condition, the study highlights how digital interactions can simultaneously enable participation and obscure durable, latent forms of exclusion in digitally saturated environments.