How blind People use Media

When it comes to media consumption, the differences between blind and sighted people are not that big. In this chapter I focus primarily on books, television and the Internet. When it comes to radio, we are all limited to our hearing. Smartphones and mobile Internet access play a crucial role in media consumption; You can find out how this works in the last section of this chapter.

Books as the gateway to the world

Books are the medium for blind people and also for most other sensory-impaired people. Writers are forced to use only words to create images in the readers' minds. Only oral narration comes close to reading in terms of imagination. Radio plays and television, on the other hand, pretend a lot and therefore limit the imagination. Blind and deaf people can never enjoy television as much as sighted or hearing people because they are each missing an important dimension, not to mention deaf-blind people who really only have literature left.

I like to call books the most inclusive medium because they are the only medium that people with sensory disabilities can discuss with non-disabled people on equal terms. Each book is practically its own world: to create this world, the authors have to describe it vividly with all the sounds, objects and smells. What they don't describe doesn't exist, so all readers have the same material for their imagination.

The exciting thing about books for blind people is that they learn a lot about them that they wouldn't otherwise know. Even the most diligent companion gets tired at some point when he has to describe people, landscapes or objects. And as well-intentioned as they may be, most people are poor observers. Authors have mastered this art with ease and their descriptions are often more exciting than reality. I will probably never visit Dartmoore, England, but I am sure that the reality will never seem as vivid and vivid to me as the description of this landscape in Artur Conan Doyle's “The Hound of the Baskervilles”. If there is anything that can help blind people see again, it is probably books.

Blind people get their reading material primarily from audio libraries. These are special libraries that lend out audio books instead of printed books. The books are implemented by the libraries in Braille or as an audio version and are sent to readers free of charge via post for the blind. The borrower reads the book and sends it back to the audio library, which then sends him a new book. The audio libraries offer the entire range of genres that you can also find in bookstores: crime novels, romance novels, non-fiction books, guides and, occasionally, scientific literature.

Audio books have certain disadvantages compared to printed books. It is not possible to specifically jump to a chapter or a specific page. That's why audio books from audio libraries are published in the so-called DAISY format. Daisy stands for Digital Accessible Information System. This standard allows you to work with an audio book in almost the same way as with a printed book. This plays less of a role in normal consumer literature. But in science it is important to cite precisely, to be able to target footnotes and the like. This is difficult with normal audio books, but DAISY makes it possible.

There are currently around 60,000 non-commercial audio books and Braille books. Braille books are easier to create than audio books, but are more expensive to reproduce and take up more space. An example: The Luther Bible comprises 33 volumes in contracted braille, but in full it would be more than 50 volumes. As an audio book in MP3 format, the entire Bible would fit on a USB stick; a digital text would even fit on an ancient 3.5-inch floppy disk. A CD can be copied in just a few minutes using almost any computer and costs just a few cents. Expensive machines are required for the Braille version. The digital audio book wins over the Braille book in almost every respect. An important reason for the victory of the audio book is that many blind people only have a rudimentary command of Braille. Most people who become blind in old age would be unable to read Braille fluently enough to enjoy books.

There are now a significantly larger number of commercially produced audio books that are also often used by blind people. The German market leader Audible says it offers more than 80,000 audio books, i.e. more than the entire stock of audio libraries. That's a good thing, because despite great efforts, audio libraries only make a fraction of German-language books available as audio books.In fact, blind people are likely to be most pleased about the rise of e-books because they can easily read digital documents using their assistive technology. There is usually some time between the appearance of a printed book and a version for the blind - if there is one at all. Only in a few cases, especially with mega-sellers, do books and audio books appear at the same time. Blind people often have to wait to read the latest novel and discuss things with their sighted friends. The e-book, on the other hand, is now usually published parallel to the printed version of newly published books.

The Role of Braille

Many sighted people are fascinated by Braille. It plays a rather minor role. Many people, especially those with late blindness, do not know braille - that is what we call Braille - or do not know it sufficiently to be able to work with it well. Like so many things, the number of Braille readers is not tracked. The DBSV assumes that around 10 to 20 percent of blind people can read Braille.

Braille was developed in the 19th century by the Frenchman Louis Braille. Louis Braille was blinded after an accident at the age of three. Even as a child, he was annoyed that he couldn't read independently. At the age of 11 he began working on a script that could be read by the blind. Braille had various models. The main source of inspiration was nightscript, a writing system based on twelve points. It was developed by French artillery captain Charles Barbier to transmit orders to soldiers. The writing was designed so that it could be read with fingers in the dark. Louis Braille simplified the writing system by, for example, reducing the number of dots from twelve to six. This made it possible to capture individual characters without moving your finger. At just 16 years old, Louis had completed Braille.

It is difficult for us today to imagine what a cataclysmic revolution this development represented, but Braille must have been similar to the blind as the Gutenberg press was for the sighted. You have to remember that audio books only came into being in our century and computer speech output only became usable about 30 years ago. For a long time, Braille was the only way for blind people to read and - this is often forgotten - to write without outside help. To this day, reading and writing are the most important techniques for participating in society, regardless of whether it is about official matters, culture or work. Anyone who cannot read and write is completely dependent on other people.

Braille is very simple. It consists of six dots that are punched into thick paper and can be felt. With these six points, 64 characters can be represented. Braille can also be presented with an electronic display. This device is called a Braille display and displays the points using movable pens that move in and out at lightning speed.

A character in Braille corresponds to a character in black letters - that's what we call the printed font. The six points correspond to what a fingertip can capture at once. It must be able to be grasped just as easily by a child with small fingertips as by a 2 meter tall man.

Braille takes up more space than comparable black text because the characters are larger and the paper is thicker than regular paper. That's why there are two different forms: full script and contracted braille. In full text, one character in Braille corresponds to one character in black type. contracted braille uses individual Braille characters and character combinations to abbreviate common character strings, syllables, and entire words. This can save up to 40 percent of space compared to full text.

In addition to the basic script, there are countless symbol systems for special purposes, for example for mathematics or for displaying musical notes. In computer Braille, for example, there are special characters that are placed in front of Internet addresses. The sighted person can understand entire sections of text, while the blind person can only read character by character, which is why such characters are particularly important for them.

The full script or basic script is almost identical in all countries with Latin letters. Differences depend on the respective alphabet, so there is no “W” in French, no umlauts in English and so on. contracted braille, on the other hand, is different in every language because syllables and frequent character strings differ.

A trained Braille reader can read up to 120 words per minute. That's pretty fast, although an experienced black print reader can do between 200 and 300 words per minute. The usual reading speed for audio books, for example, is 150 words per minute.

For various reasons, Braille no longer plays such a big role, especially in Western countries. Most people today become blind in adulthood. At this stage of life, it is much more difficult for them to learn new scripts. The priority is mobility and life skills, which requires all their energy. The basics of Braille can be learned quickly, but it takes a lot of practice before you can read fluently. And it's only fun if you can read fluently. Learning Braille is almost like learning to read again. Many older people also lack the necessary tactile sensitivity; their fingertips are not sensitive enough to be able to distinguish between individual points.

Added to this is the high purchase price for digital Braille displays. A current line costs between 1,000 and 10,000 euros. For this price you can buy several smartphones, tablet PCs and computers that can now be operated via voice output without any problems.

Braille is very practical for everyday life. Special machines can be used to label small adhesive strips that can be used, for example, to mark cans or CD cases. But there are also tangible advantages: unlike audio books, Braille books can be used without electricity and even in noisy environments. A study would most likely show that blind children without Braille knowledge have difficulty with correct spelling and grammar. This may not be so dramatic in German, but it can become difficult when learning foreign languages, as pronunciation and spelling can differ significantly in other languages. Many blind people also believe that reading for yourself is a completely different form of engaging with literature than listening to audio books.

Braille has found its way unnoticed into almost every household. You do not believe this? Then rummage through your medicine cabinet and feel the cardboard packaging.

Watching TV without a picture

Blind people definitely watch television, including programs that are designed entirely for sighted people, such as action films or comics. However, most people would prefer more dialogue-heavy formats.

Maybe you've been playing around with the remote control and suddenly a voice in the quiet parts of the movie tells you what's happening. This is the audio description, a film description for the blind and severely visually impaired.

Audio description itself has been around for a long time, so there are ancient Agatha Christie film adaptations that have been described. However, it has only really become more widespread in the last decade. Public television broadcasters in particular had to commit to making their programs more accessible to blind and visually impaired people, not least because this group has had to pay broadcasting fees since 2013.

The vast majority of shows are not described at all. Since audio description is complex and expensive, someone has to decide which programs are described and which are not. In the past, films were described that whoever considered culturally valuable. This is the type of show whose ratings are measured in per thousand. Only in recent years have popular series such as Tatort been described.

However, the majority of US films are still not described, nor are the countless American series that make up a large part of the German television program and are also very popular with viewers. German private broadcasters almost completely forego audio description.

Each film image contains thousands of elements, the actor's clothing, the furnishings, the facial expressions and gestures and much more. Audio description can only convey a fraction of this information. That's why it can't be an adequate replacement for the actual film.

The bigger problem is that audio descriptions are an indirect substitute for another medium. They are not a medium themselves and can therefore neither convey the emotional power of the film nor have an emotional effect themselves. A love film works primarily through images that you have to see in order to be able to love and suffer with the protagonists. A relatively sober audio description cannot have the same effect as these images. You can't imagine anything more off-putting than a newscaster's voice describing a sex scene. A good narrator or audio book narrator easily manages to draw the listener into the story, something that audio description unfortunately cannot do.

Blind in the Internet

You've probably already guessed that blind people can also use the Internet. I explain how this works technically in the chapter “Blind People and Computers”. At this point I just want to show what blind people do on the Internet.

In the past, blind people were always a little behind current developments. We were still using mailing lists when others were already chatting. When Facebook came along, we still used Skype. Today we are on the same platforms as sighted people.

Access to the Internet means much more to blind people than to sighted people. 15 years ago, reading a daily newspaper was impossible for many blind people. Today we can choose between SpOn, Zeit Online or the FAZ. I often stood in front of the kiosk and was annoyed that there were hundreds of magazines and journals that I simply couldn't read. Today I find more on the Internet than I could read in a lifetime.

But blind people don't just consume content, they are also busy producers. There is a small but fine blogger scene and numerous web projects run by blind people. Some blind people produce podcasts and even videos and post them on YouTube.

The advantage of the Internet is anonymity, not in the sense of personality, but of disability. Your favorite blogger or YouTube musician could actually be blind and you would never know it. This means that you are neither spared nor disadvantaged by your disability. Content is king. We may not all be equal on the internet, but the internet does come pretty close to inclusion. I can never know whether the dedicated football fan with whom I gossip about Bayern is blind, in a wheelchair, deaf or manic-depressive and I don't really care.

The smartphone

The smartphone has also revolutionized access to technology and the Internet for blind people. This is undoubtedly due to Apple or rather to Steve Jobs himself, who wanted his devices to be accessible to everyone. Since the iPhone 3 Gs there has been a built-in voice output for blind people. The first iPad could be used by blind people out of the box, something like this had never existed before. Previously, blind people had to spend a lot of money on special devices.

This development has meant that blind people can essentially use their smartphones in the same way as sighted people. You check the weather, chat on WhatsApp, have Foursquare show you the most exciting places or navigate through the landscape with Google Maps. They take part in scavenger hunts, play audio games and chat around wildly on WhatsApp.

In addition to the apps that everyone uses, there are many special apps for blind people. There are apps for text recognition, color identification or barcode reading. This means that the smartphone can replace a whole range of expensive tools in one fell swoop. There are special MP3 players, shopping aids, navigation systems and so on for blind people, but their prices are high. The apps, on the other hand, are available for a few euros.

The smartphone has improved our independence infinitely. I used to always print out two alternative connections when planning my trip so that I was prepared for the usual train cancellations and delays. But as it is, every now and then both the planned train and the alternative connection were canceled. Since I couldn't read the timetables, I often had to find my way to the service point in strange train stations. Thanks to my smartphone, I can easily and quickly check online when the next train or bus is leaving.

Beyond all of this, the smartphone has also made access to the Internet much easier. Despite all the progress, a computer is a complex device, especially when the screen reader is added as an additional challenge. For people who are not very tech-savvy, which we often find among blind people, setting up a computer or Internet access can be an insurmountable barrier. Thanks to smartphones, you can now get basic internet service for around ten euros, which is sufficient for many purposes.