It’s 2009 and technology and social media are around every corner. As we read the news and talk to our friends, it seems as though everyone is sending email, checking Facebook, watching videos on YouTube and even blogging.

Well, not everyone.

While the majority of Canadians (a whopping 70%) are using Facebook, and 58% of Canadians are blogging, many of our citizens are still not online, never mind using the latest and greatest social media tools.

Age is one factor. The “it girl” of social media right now is a micro-blogging application called Twitter. You can use your Twitter account to send short (140 character) messages out to your network of followers (the people who want to see where you are, what you’re doing, and what you’re thinking about). While 63% of 19-25 year olds are Twittering, only 10% of those over the age of 61 are using the site.

Income also plays a big role in technology usage, but perhaps the least talked about factor is disability. Surveys consistently report that people with disabilities have only half the rate of Internet access of people without a disability. Increasingly not being online means not being able to register for courses, sign up for community center activities, do your banking, or even find information on government programs.

And now, with the proliferation of social media sites like Facebook, MySpace and YouTube, people with disabilities are also less likely to be able to grow the online social networks that are part of what it means to belong, in today’s technology-infused culture.