The Hidden Costs of Exclusion in Tech

The Hidden Cost of Exclusion in Tech

By Deepti Krishna | August 2025

Introduction: When Technology Leaves People Behind

During the pandemic, I remember a classmate sitting with her phone in hand, waiting for her online class to load. The teacher’s voice kept cutting out. The screen froze. By the time it worked again, the lesson had already moved on. She wasn’t lazy or careless—she just didn’t have fast internet.

I’ve felt that too. When I tried to use Coursera or edX on my ten-year-old phone, the pages wouldn’t load properly. Videos buffered endlessly. I would tap and wait, tap and wait, and finally give up. The content was there, but it was locked behind a design that didn’t fit my reality.

“Exclusion in technology is not about inconvenience. It’s about lost opportunities and lost dignity.”

What Exclusion Looks Like

Exclusion in tech isn’t dramatic. It’s quiet, everyday, and everywhere:

• Slow internet & heavy websites — students in rural areas can’t stream lessons because platforms assume everyone has high-speed Wi-Fi.
• Assuming expensive hardware — apps that require the latest smartphones ignore millions using secondhand or low-end devices.
• One language only — platforms in English only cut off users who are more comfortable in their native tongue.
• Disability ignored — tiny fonts, no captions, and inaccessible design leave out users who rely on screen readers or hearing support.

“Exclusion isn’t about people lacking resources. It’s about technology built without considering real users.” 

The Costs of Exclusion

This chart is just illustrative, but it highlights how issues like unreliable internet, old devices, and language barriers pile up to lock people out.

Exclusion has ripple effects that stretfar beyond a frozen screen.Here’s a quick look at where exclusion often shows up in tech:

1. Education

During COVID, millions of students dropped out—not because they didn’t want to learn, but because they couldn’t. Platforms were too heavy, devices too outdated, or families had to share a single phone. A lost year of education is not just a delay; for many, it means the end of schooling.

“When technology fails students, it doesn’t just block lessons—it blocks futures.”

2. Work and Opportunities

Job applications and services are now almost entirely online. If a website won’t load on a basic phone, or assumes constant high-speed internet, people lose opportunities—not because they are unqualified, but because the design excluded them.

3. Emotional Toll

Perhaps the hardest cost is invisible. When technology doesn’t work for you, it’s easy to feel “behind” or “not smart enough.” I’ve felt that embarrassment when platforms failed to load on my phone. It wasn’t my fault, but it made me feel excluded. Millions carry that same quiet shame.

“Bad design often teaches people to doubt themselves instead of doubting the technology.”

4. Economic Loss for Everyone

Exclusion also hurts society. When millions can’t join online education, healthcare, or banking, economies lose their contribution. Businesses lose customers.

“Inclusion is not charity—it’s good design and good economics.”

Why Tech Excludes

1. Assumptions about the “default” user — many products are built for people like the designers themselves: urban, English-speaking, fast internet, modern devices.
2. Profit over people — companies chase wealthy markets and often ignore the majority who live with constraints.
3. Lack of diversity in teams — without women, rural voices, disabled users, or low-income perspectives, real needs never reach the roadmap.

“When design teams all look the same, the products they make all fail the same users.”

What Inclusion Could Look Like

• Lightweight apps & sites that run on old phones or low data.
• Multilingual interfaces beyond English.
• Accessibility features like captions, large fonts, screen-reader support, and voice controls.
• Offline-first design so content works without constant connectivity.
• Community-driven innovation built by people who understand local realities.

“Inclusive design doesn’t just open doors—it widens markets and strengthens trust.”

Stories of Hope

• UPI in India brought millions into digital payments with simple flows that work even on basic phones and low internet.
• Voice notes help people who can’t type quickly or prefer speaking in local languages.
• My Blogger site — built on a phone with a free template. It’s simple and light, but it works even on slow networks. That’s human-centered design in action.

“When technology is designed with empathy, even small solutions can create massive change.”

Conclusion: The True Cost of Exclusion

Exclusion in technology doesn’t just inconvenience people. It blocks education, erases opportunities, drains confidence, and slows down societies. Every time designers choose complexity over simplicity, or profit over people, they build walls. Every time someone chooses accessibility, empathy, and inclusion, they break those walls down.

“The hidden cost of exclusion is too high to ignore. The reward of inclusion is a world where technology empowers everyone.”

© 2025 Deepti Krishna DEECODE — Human-Centered Computing in plain words.