Social media platforms, often praised for giving everyone a voice, can reinforce inequality and deepen the exclusion of marginalised communities, new research from the University of Bath School of Management shows.
The study focused on Dalits in India, formerly referred to as "untouchables" and now legally known as Scheduled Castes in India. Dalits, who account for just over 200 million of India’s 1.47 billion people, are a marginalized group outside the traditional Hindu caste system and are acknowledged to face social and economic oppression. Historically Dalits were confined to menial tasks that were viewed as polluting, such as animal slaughter and leatherworking.
“Progress is painfully slow and discrimination and violence against Dalits remain widespread but increasing numbers of the community are employed in areas such as public service, banking and the railways, and sometimes in private industry, and the Dalit middle class is growing. It was hoped that social media might accelerate that progress – in fact, it has exacerbated the problems,” said Dr Pardeep Attri.
The study - “You Belong to Gutters, Not Facebook or Twitter: Recovering Dalit Histories from the Shadows of Social Media” - shows how digital platforms shape, limit, and sometimes erase the histories and experiences of groups already facing discrimination offline. It identified three major forms of exclusion online:
• Being unseen – Dalit histories and content are often made invisible by platform algorithms and biased curation.
• Being unheard– platform policies and reporting systems do not adequately protect Dalits from harassment or allow their concerns to be meaningfully addressed.
• Being unspoken– constant trolling, abuse, and discrimination push many Dalit users into silence or withdrawal.
“Alongside the technical, algorithm bias issues, there is an urgent need at social media platforms for moderators who understand the Dalit community and are able, and willing, to tackle trolls who bypass controls and safeguards. The media, and social mainstream, almost all come from dominant castes and this too may play a role and require tougher policies and education,” said Dr Attri.
The researchers noted that visibility alone on social media did not guarantee empowerment. In fact, increased online presence often exposed Dalit users to more harassment and attempts to discredit or erase their contribution, and many felt they lacked real control over how their history and stories were told.
“And economic discrimination, with many Dalits lacking the funds to buy a laptop or smartphone, presents yet another obstacle to participation,” Dr Attri said.
Dr Attri said that these experiences were creating a form of resistance amongst Dalits, many of whom are actively creating alternative archives, forming supportive online communities, and using digital activism, including hashtags like #DalitLivesMatter, to reclaim and preserve their histories, and to remedy the distortions and gaps created by platforms and dominant caste narratives
“But, arguably, this risks reinforcing exclusion. I would like to see mainstream social media platforms and policymakers take stronger action to address caste-based discrimination online. This includes more effective moderation, clearer policies, and technology that identifies and reduces harmful content without silencing the communities most affected by it,” Dr Attri said.
“Reducing inequality requires more than simply increasing participation—it requires ensuring that all communities have the ability to speak, be heard, and shape their own digital histories without fear of abuse.”
The research team comprised Dr Attri, and Professors Sarah Glozer and Vivek Soundararajan from the University of Bath School of Management, and Dr Ramya Sakthivel of Jönköping University, Sweden.