Why Phones are good For Blind People #GoRoam

“Up. Right. A little more. Yep, that looks good.”
This is a regular conversation I have over video calls with my fiance, getting him to check my make up before I walk out the door to give a talk or presentation.
I am blind, and my phone is my literal connection to the online and outside world. I use my phone in every instance of my day, my phone gives me Independence and confidence to live my life like my peers. 

I have the added pleasure of being escorted by my beautiful guide dog Ida everywhere I go. Contrary to popular belief – guide dogs are not built in sat navs and do not know where they are going –  the onus is on me: the handler, to know where I am at all times, and, give her the commands to follow my directions.
Without my phone in my bag, and  Apple AirPods chattering away inconspicuously I wouldn’t have the freedom to jump on a bus, train or even plane in lue of my next adventure.

But wait, didn’t you just say you were blind and use a guide dog? How could you possibly use a mobile phone?
Ah yes, blindness and technology are not naturally synonymous with one another. Or at least that’s the assumption.  Built into today’s technology, phones in particular, is accessible software and key features such as magnification and screen reading that allows people with low vision or total blindness to use their phones; just like you do. In Apple products this is called voice-over and an android products this is known as talkback.
Most people I know are unaware that it is present, and of course, if you had no need for it why would you? But it’s the advance in technology and the addition of these softwares that allows people like me to use my phone.

I use my phone to write emails, take photos-somewhat badly, like the time I didn’t realise my camera was front facing and I kept snapping pictures of my forehead instead of the object in front of me- calling/texting friends or the typical millennium social media stalking and updates.  I will never be a social media star with 1 million followers on Instagram who find my photography full of wonderlust and filtered themes. I share snippets and stories of what life living with blindness (and other disabilities) is like, connecting and educating is the real joy for me.

In reality though my phone is my lifeline: using reminders when Ida is due a vet or grooming, reading  when and where  my newest hospital appointment is by scanning and processing my letters, analysing a screenshot or mean-to see what everyone else is finding overly hilarious, scrolling through the TV Guide app to see what’s on next, labelling my photos so I know who was in it and what we were wearing that day,  giving me audio feedback that I’m coming up to a crossing/intersection and which street is ahead or to my left and right, scanning barcodes to tell me what the item is on the ingredients within them, booking and paying for train tickets  and having an accessible E-ticket,  bringing up the bus timetable and alerting me when the bus has arrived and when I reach my destination, connecting me to a volunteer somewhere in the world simply to doublecheck if I had retrieved the beef (or chicken) from the freezer. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg of my day-to-day living.
Making technology accessible  makes the world a more accessible and inclusive place for me and others with disabilities.
I lost my sight in 2013 and most of the apps and websites I use today did not exist, it shows how quickly technology advances and how living a truly independent life as a blind person can be

This is a paid partnership article with Three, a mobile phone supplier in the UK as part of their Phones Are Good Campaign. Three believe that phones have been getting too hard a time recently. Far from bringing the end to humanity, they think they bring people together. Think about it. These pocket rockets help us plan our social life, find love, build relations, run businesses and make memories. They also keep us connected on the go, including 71 destinations worldwide with Three’s Go Roamproposition. As part of the paid article, Three asked me to share my personal experiences on why phones are good. These opinions, stories and images are my own..