Gypsy–Traveller communities in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands: socially and digitally excluded?

Abstract

With the pervasiveness of digitisation communications, those that are left behind are seen as socially excluded. In both academic and policy discourses, it is assumed that digital inclusion as a route into mainstream society is a desirable solution to problems of multiple exclusion and has led to many studies of the digital inclusion/exclusion of ‘hard to reach’ groups. Yet, Gypsy–Travellers, among the most marginalised people in society, have received little attention. Using data from the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, we assess the impact of digital communications on Gypsy–Traveller communities. This article makes a contribution in the following ways: First, we address the theories of ‘fields of inclusion’ to show how exclusion and inclusion work together in different ways; Second, we explore how different policy frameworks in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom shape these possibilities; Third, we document the forms of inclusion that Gypsy–Travellers experience in terms of digital communications; Fourth, we look at how Gypsy–Travellers use digital communications to recreate their own cultures as well as selectively integrate with mainstream society.