SOCIAL EXCLUSION OF INFORMATION COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY LAGGARDS

Social exclusion refers to the marginalized or disadvantaged fringe of the society. The paper focuses on those who have been socially excluded due to non-use of Information Communication Technology or due to non-adoption of ICT gadgets. They lie in the category of laggards. With the spread of knowledge and information, their number has decreased. The scope of the study was to determine whether Information Communication Technologies (ICT) play a significant role in the life of individuals to keep pace with the world or not. The data was collected from hundred respondents through a questionnaire from a public sector university over the duration of one month. The findings reveal various barriers that lead to non-adoption; including weak socio-economic conditions, laggard peer group, low education, religious pressure groups, and cultural norms that lead to the inevitable consequence of lagging behind and social exclusion.