How Digital Spaces reflect and reinforce exclusion – and What we can do about it
Online Xenophobia and Youth
- NEWS
Digital spaces are often seen as open and empowering especially for young people. They offer opportunities to connect, express opinions and participate in public life. Yet they also mirror and sometimes amplify existing prejudices, including xenophobia.
Online Xenophobia and Youth: How Digital Spaces Reflect and Reinforce Exclusion and What We Can Do About It
According to Statistik Austria (2023), nearly one third of the population reported encountering hostile or degrading content online within a three-month period and this rises to almost half (around 46%) among 16–24-year-olds. Social media users are significantly more exposed to such content than non-users. This means that young people are not just occasional witnesses of online hostility; they are disproportionately confronted with it.
Official Austrian hate crime reports further indicate that a substantial share of bias-motivated incidents now take place online. Digital platforms have become key spaces where racism, xenophobia and discriminatory narratives are expressed and amplified. Civil society organisations such as ZARA also report a consistently high number of online hate cases each year, many of them driven by prejudice related to ethnicity, religion or migration background.
For young people, especially those from migrant or multicultural communities this has tangible consequences. Online xenophobia can affect their sense of belonging, confidence and willingness to participate in public debate. When digital spaces become hostile, youth agency suffers: young people may withdraw, self-censor or disengage from democratic participation.
From Awareness to Empowerment: The Role of MIGHTY YOU EU
This is precisely where the project Multicultural Inclusion, Growth & Hope for Thriving Youth Online becomes essential.
With Youth Power Austria as a partner, the project responds directly to the Austrian reality:
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If nearly half of young people are exposed to hostile online content, then digital resilience and critical awareness are not optional, they are necessary competences.
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If online spaces reflect structural discrimination, then youth work must address both digital literacy and social inclusion together.
The project does not approach xenophobia only as a problem of “bad comments.” Instead, it explores how discrimination operates across digital and offline environments and how algorithms, viral misinformation and polarising narratives can reinforce existing prejudices.
By increasing awareness among youth and youth workers, the project helps participants:
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Recognise subtle and overt forms of online xenophobia
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Understand how digital platforms can amplify exclusionary narratives
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Reflect on how these dynamics influence youth participation and civic engagement
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Develop strategies to respond constructively rather than withdraw
In the Austrian context where official data confirms high exposure to online hostility among young people, this approach is particularly relevant. Youth Power Austria contributes local expertise, contextual understanding and direct engagement with young people who experience these dynamics in their everyday digital lives.
What We Can Do About It
Awareness is the first step, but it is not the final goal.
Through training activities, exchanges and collaborative learning across partner countries, the project aims to transform awareness into agency. Young people are encouraged not only to identify xenophobic narratives but to actively counter them by promoting inclusive storytelling, supporting peers, reporting harmful content, and creating digital spaces grounded in respect and diversity.
In a context where online hostility is statistically widespread in Austria, empowering youth to become critical, confident digital citizens is a form of democratic strengthening. It ensures that digital spaces do not become arenas of exclusion, but platforms for participation and multicultural dialogue.
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Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
