Best Practices for Social Media Accessibility
originally published September 20th, 2020
I believe we can engage in social media while staying committed to the work of social justice. Which is why, as a digital strategist, I know it's my responsibility to learn how to create accessible content.
Before I dive in, I want to acknowledge that I live on the disability spectrum and experience mild neurodivergence. And, I regard myself as a learner in this work. I am committed to this learning so that I can be present on social media and create content that is accessible and equitable for those who move through the world with different identities and abilities from my own.
I will be updating this page as I continue to gain knowledge and tools for these practices. And I am grateful for the offerings of so many educators who I am dedicated to learning from, especially Mia Mingus and Carol aka Higher Priestess. If the resources and education I share below are of value to you, please consider supporting their work through following and sharing their content, offering financial contributions to them directly, or attending their workshops.
Content Warnings
Content warnings, or trauma warnings, are used when our posts reference or explore content that could potentially be activating to peoples' nervous systems. You might see posts that begin with CW: or TW:, subsequently listing a variety of themes, such as racism, transphobia, disordered eating, body image, etc. Providing a CW gives people the opportunity to make empowered choices about the content they consume. Or not. A well-placed CW, prior to content that might unexpectedly catch someone off guard, serves as a pivot point, allowing viewers to make a choice from a place of agency. Think of this as one way you might offer informed consent and practice trauma awareness on social media.
While our nervous systems might experience varying degrees of activation while scrolling through social media, we can make mindful choices about the types of content we consume, and we can support our community in listening to what they need and cultivating boundaries.
When adding content warnings…
Always note the CW first, as a preface before you share the content:
In story posts, if you’re sharing content that might be activating, be sure to create one single story slide with the content warning, and then share the content
In feed posts, include your content warning at the very top of your caption or in the first carousel slide. Add enough text, or include ellipses or emojis, so that viewers tap “more,” thereby making the subsequent part of your caption only visible to someone who wishes to see it after reviewing the content warning (again, think: trauma-informed consent)
Consider including CWs for the following themes:
abuse or violence of any kind
harm of any kind, including racism, transphobia, antisemitism, etc.
sexual violence
disordered eating, body image, weight loss or numbers related to weight
self-harm or suicide
& more
Bottom line: any time you speak to a highly sensitive subject, consider first prefacing your post with a content or trauma warning. See example.
Alt text
There are two primary ways to make our images accessible for those who are visually impaired and using screen readers: alt text and image descriptions.
Alt text is is embedded to the photo and not displayed for viewers. It's usually a brief description of the primary image details, announced by screen readers for those who are visually impaired. Alt text is meant to provide the main details of an image, and is usually 140 characters or shorter.
Instagram’s features change regularly; at this moment, you can find the alt text settings when you tap to create a new post—in the frame you see when you start writing a caption, locate “Advanced Settings” at the bottom of that screen. Tap that, then scroll down to Accessibility (it should be the last option in the Advanced Settings menu). Under Accessibility, tap “Write Alt Text.”
Note that Instagram does say it automatically creates alt text for your photos. If you’d like to have any ownership over this (and I recommend that you do!), be sure to create your unique words for the image alt text. Again, 140 characters or less. Think one sentence. For the above photo on this page, I would write something to the effect of: A selfie of Tristan as they hug their pup, Layla, at the beach.
Also note that if you’re sharing a post with multiple slides, you’ll be prompted to add alt text for each one.
Image Descriptions
Image descriptions are visible to viewers and consist of more detailed text explaining what the image or post might encompass. There are several things to remember when seeking to offer image descriptions:
Be sure to include as much information and details as possible about the graphic(s) you’re sharing, including words to describe clothing styles and colors, haircuts and colors, etc.
Note in your description that it’s a photo or graphic (meaning a marketing/promo image), i.e. “A photo of Tristan and their pup,” or “A graphic featuring a black and white image, underlaying text that reads…”
Consider including racial identity when describing people in your photos. Or, at the very least, if you find yourself inclined to name, for example, that someone in your photo is a Black woman, be sure to also name those who are white-bodied in the image as well—I am now adding a note about my own white identity in many of my image descriptions with the aim of normalizing the act of naming and acknowledging that I hold this privileged identity. I am also often including my gender identity to normalize this consideration as well.
Place the image description in your caption if space allows. If your caption is too long, consider including something to the effect of “Image ID in comments” to direct screen readers and those who are visually impaired to the comment for the image description.
If you’re sharing a carousel slide post, be sure to offer descriptions of each slide, i.e. "[Image ID: Slide 1 features….]
Be sure to actually include text to explain that you’re offering an image description so that screen readers will announce that part of the caption clearly—including the image description without actually categorizing it as such might confuse those who are hearing the text read aloud. By that I mean, preface your image description with something to the effect of:
Image ID:
[Image:]
Pic:
…or some variation thereof
Bottom line: we are each responsible for creating alt text and image descriptions when sharing accessible content. Though there are auto-generators out there, my understanding is that they don’t suffice, and it’s best if we manually provide these points of accessibility.
Video accessibility
When sharing videos on Instagram, whether in a feed post, your stories, video post, or reels, be sure to offer captioning for those who are visually or hearing impaired.
While there are several apps available to support you in creating your captions, know that you can also manually add them yourself—it just takes more time.
I’ve had great success with MixCaptions for iOS, though keep in mind you have to pay for it. Here are my steps:
First, I install the app on my mobile device.
Second, I film the video I want to share with my built-in camera, and I save it to my device.
I open MixCaptions, then select the video, and the app will automatically comb through and generate captions. The app offers an opportunity to review and edit the captions if needed.
Once I’m happy with the text, I save the captioned video back to my device, and then upload that to Instagram.
For alternative video captioning apps, check out this post by Mia Mingus; iPhone’s also have a built-in app called Clips which, with some maneuvering, you can also caption your videos, and I’ve heard good things about AutoCap as well (available for iOS and Android).
Bottom line: Many of us watch videos with the sound off on our devices, so creating captions in this way makes our content accessible for those who are using screen readers, as well as for others who might opt to watch without sound.
Hashtag Considerations
CamelCase is the recommended practice of capitalizing the first letters of hashtags that include multiple words. CamelCase helps screen readers articulate these longer tags and allows for increased ease of reading for those who are sighted as well.
Next time you include hashtags in a post or comment, consider using CamelCase, i.e. #YogaAndSocialJustice #YogaAndSocialChange
Emoji usage
Including emojis in your captions may be effective and offer a sense of play to your words or tone, but consider minimizing the amount of emojis you use in each caption as over-emojizing can confuse screen readers, making it difficult for folks who rely on those devices to receive the message you’re offering. You might also spell out the emoji you use when you do decide to include on, such as: ♥︎♥︎♥︎ [three black heart emojis]
Bottom line: I’m a learner in this work. My understanding is that accessibility considerations aren’t extra steps; they’re steps we might be missing.