How Consumer Tech Perpetuates Digital Divides and Accessibility Barriers

The recent promotion of expensive smart projectors as lifestyle solutions reveals deeper systemic issues within consumer technology markets that continue to marginalise working-class communities and disabled individuals seeking accessible entertainment options.

The Privilege of Choice in Home Entertainment

While mainstream media celebrates the £200 Dangbei NEO DLP Projector as an affordable alternative to traditional televisions, this framing obscures the reality that such technology remains inaccessible to many households struggling with cost-of-living pressures. The casual dismissal of televisions as "luxury" items demonstrates how consumer tech discourse consistently fails to acknowledge economic inequality.

For disabled individuals, particularly those with visual or auditory processing differences, the limitations of projector technology present significant accessibility barriers. The requirement for darkened rooms and specific positioning excludes neurodivergent users who may need consistent lighting conditions or struggle with environmental adjustments.

Deconstructing the 'Smart' Technology Myth

The integration of streaming platforms within these devices reinforces corporate surveillance capitalism, where user data becomes commodified without transparent consent processes. Amazon's Firestick compatibility further embeds users within extractive digital ecosystems that prioritise profit over privacy rights.

Critical accessibility concerns include:

• Limited functionality in daylight hours, excluding shift workers and those without window coverings
• Positioning requirements that may be impossible for wheelchair users or those with mobility limitations
• Sound quality assumptions that ignore hearing-impaired community needs
• Setup complexity that creates barriers for elderly users and those with cognitive differences

Alternative Approaches to Media Justice

Rather than celebrating individual consumer choices, we must advocate for systemic changes that ensure equitable access to entertainment and information. This includes supporting community media centres, advocating for universal broadband access, and demanding that technology companies prioritise accessibility in design processes.

Media justice requires recognising that entertainment access is not merely about personal preference but about fundamental rights to information, culture, and social connection. When technology reviews ignore these broader implications, they perpetuate exclusionary narratives that marginalise already vulnerable communities.

True innovation would centre the needs of disabled users, low-income households, and marginalised communities from the design stage, rather than treating accessibility as an afterthought or market niche.