How Blind People Navigate the Visual World of Social Media

Ever wondered how blind people experience Instagram stories or Facebook photo dumps? For millions of visually impaired users worldwide, navigating our image-obsessed social media landscape presents daily challenges that most of us never consider.

Screen readers form the backbone of accessibility, converting text to speech as users navigate platforms. But these tools hit a wall when they encounter unmarked images—announcing simply “image” or nothing at all. That vacation photo everyone’s commenting on? That trending meme? For blind users, it’s often a frustrating blank space in the conversation.

This is where alternative text (alt text) becomes crucial. Good alt text transforms “image” into “Sunset over mountain lake with silhouettes of children playing at water’s edge” or “Meme of confused math lady with equations floating around her head.” Suddenly, visual content becomes accessible.

Major platforms have implemented automated AI descriptions with mixed results. Facebook might identify “two people outdoors” but miss that it’s actually a graduation ceremony. Most platforms now allow users to write custom descriptions when posting images, but few sighted users know about or use this feature.

Blind users often develop workarounds—relying on comments for context clues, building networks of friends who reliably describe images, or using third-party apps that crowd-source descriptions from volunteers. Some even directly message posters asking, “What’s in that photo everyone’s reacting to?”

Technology continues improving, but awareness remains the biggest barrier. Next time you post that perfect sunset pic or birthday celebration, remember: a simple description makes your visual world accessible to everyone.