Caring for Special Participants in the Digital Media Era: A Study on Enhancing the Blind User Experience on Short Video Platforms Through Auditory Cues

Abstract

Screen readers for the visually impaired and blind and short video platforms have conflicting functionalities. In particular, blind users encounter information access barriers when searching for video content, which reduces their user experience. We embed auditory cues at the beginning of a short video corresponding to its content to help blind users identify the video type. The experimental design and evaluation results reveal the significant impact of these auditory cues. By embedding auditory cues, we can significantly enhance the user's usability, recognition efficiency, and emotional experience, surpassing traditional short videos' experience. Speech had the shortest response time and highest accuracy, while auditory icons provided a better emotional experience. In addition, some participants expressed concerns about the potential social privacy issues associated with Speech. This study provides auditory cue-matching solutions for a wide range of short videos. It offers a beacon of hope for enhancing the experience of short video platforms for the blind user. By doing so, we contribute to the well-being of people with disabilities and provide highly versatile user experience design recommendations for a broader range of digital media platforms.