Introversion to Digital Ghettos: Wilful Self-Exclusion of Syrian Refugees in Türkiye

Abstract

This study foregrounds digital exclusion as a driver of wilful self-exclusion among Syrian refugees in Türkiye, challenging the premise that online communication inherently facilitates integration. Guided by a theoretical framework that bridges the contact hypothesis, social capital theory and concepts of digital othering, it analyses how refugees navigate online socialization and economic participation. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with 37 refugees, the research reveals that in response to online hostility and digital ignoring, they strategically retreat into their own ethnic networks. This wilful self-exclusion gives rise to a digital refugee ghetto—an analytical construct denoting a structural and symbolic enclave that serves as a protective buffer in a hostile socio-political context. Diverging from Eurocentric studies that predominantly highlight the integrative potential of digital platforms, this research demonstrates that digital environments can actively facilitate introversion rather than social inclusion. The study concludes by calling for targeted digital governance and broader social cohesion policies to address the root causes of systemic digital exclusion.