Social media use of adults with an intellectual disability following the COVID-19 pandemic

Objectives: Social media is widely used by the general population to maintain and expand social relationships and promote wellbeing. This study explores use of social media by younger people with intellectual disabilities who are established users of social media at the end of the social restrictions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK. Methods: Eleven participants from a rural part of England; five males and six females with an age range of 18-35 years, who were active users of social media, were interviewed about their experiences. Interview questions were developed based on an initial template of codes derived from two systematic meta-syntheses relating to social media use, published before COVID-19. This initial template was then used as a starting point for analysis of transcripts. Results: The final template had one overarching theme of self-determination and three primary themes of cyber safety, social media as a vehicle of autonomy, and sense of self. Compared to their pre-COVID-19 experiences, social media was more identified as used to maintain social relationships and was more used to access information about health issues such as COVID-19. Conclusions: The results offer a positive picture of the use of social media and its importance in self-determination, health promotion and the maintenance of wellbeing for younger people with intellectual disabilities who are established users of social media. Practice implications and areas for future research are discussed.