https://doi.org/10.67147/literariness.v1i2.023
Reading the ‘Exotic’: Algorithmic Visibility and Representation of Digital Exoticism of Northeast India on Social Media
SHREYA MANNA
PhD Scholar
Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Tirupati, India
DR. DORESWAMY
Assistant Professor
Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Tirupati, India
Abstract: The present Northeast India has been under constant treatment of otherness without resorting to negativity, yet a certain indifferences come into play. By identifying the recurring discursive patterns through which the fascination with appearance predominantly coexists with stereotypes, misrecognition, and casual racism. The paper tries to argue that Indian media manifestations constitute the racialized discourses of ‘Digital-Exoticism’ of Northeast Indian as Otherness, meanwhile focusing on Identity and Northeast Indian raciality in the context of virtuality anddigital consumption.
Conducting an examination of the comments under memes, tweets, threads, and posts on online platforms such as Instagram, X (formerly known as Twitter), and Facebook between the years 2022-2025, the research analyzes how the representations of Northeast Indian bodies and their cultural markers are repeatedly framed as visually appealing, foreign, or “East Asian–like.” While these representations often appear appreciative, it is clear that representations function asa forms of digital exoticism which reproduce more racial discrimination than social inclusion. Subsequently, the paper demonstrates how the social media user engagement and media platforms desensitize the marginalized history and political exclusion of the north-east Indian population through an aesthetically layered discourse, which is essentially a racialized circulation.
Using qualitative thematic analysis, the study has come to conclusion that social media not only reflects the existing attitudes but actively participates in shaping coerced formulation through which the mainland users extend the Northeast Indian identities to even beyond online socialcontexts. This theoretical framework traces the continuity between digital discourse and lived experiences of Northeast Indian identities. Furthermore, the paper debates on the racialisation, internally othering and the digital culture in contemporary India by highlighting the seemingly positive visibility. It also reinforces entrenched hierarchies transforming an admiration into a subtle but persistent mode of exclusion.
Keywords: digital exoticism, Northeast India, racialisation, social media, internal othering
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