The internet as an indicator for the integration of the disabled into society

The study is focused on the opportunity of social media to present different sides of disabled people’s integration into society. The research on the media role in covering the problem is provided. Having analyzed the sites, which publish information on people with disabilities, the authors highlight some thematic units. The legal-informational unit is dedicated to the issues of treatment, rehabilitation, employment, and inclusion in a social life. This unit is most frequently represented by special programs, including state mass media. There is coverage of activities with participation of people with social health needs (specialized - Paralympics, DeafSkills, etc.) and projects with mixed participation. Moreover, there are blogs, which describe the routine of their lives. It is noted that people with disabilities are not yet sufficiently presented as hosts in mass-media, and Russian information field generally forms two polar images of disabled person, either of ‘the winner” or “the victim”, which barely leaves enough space for “the ordinary person”. It is recommended that the mass media (including the Internet) transmit comprehensive information on the integration of people with disabilities into modern Russian society, which would help reduce the bias of the population towards people with disabilities.