The Role of Social Networking Platforms in Mitigating Inequality and Discrimination Against Black Millennials in Employment

This study explores how social networking platforms can improve employment prospects for Black South African millennials, focusing on specific universities in KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa). Despite being digital natives, many of these millennials face significant barriers to employment, including limited professional networks, inadequate job-seeking skills, and socio-economic challenges rooted in historical inequality and systemic discrimination. While platforms like LinkedIn offer opportunities to bridge the digital divide, their effective use remains limited. Utilising an exploratory quantitative research design, the study surveyed 609 postgraduate students in 2024 and conducted interviews with selected participants recruited through purposive sampling aligned with the research objectives. The findings indicate that engagement is primarily on platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, while LinkedIn is underutilised due to a lack of awareness, digital literacy, and trust in online job postings. The study reveals a considerable gap between the potential of social networking sites and their actual use for job-seeking among Black millennials. Challenges such as affordability, accessibility, and insufficient guidance hinder their engagement with these platforms. Recommendations include providing digital skills training, integrating job-seeking strategies into academic curricula, and promoting employer-driven campaigns to encourage the professional use of platforms like LinkedIn. A model based on social exchange theory and Wilson’s information behaviour model is proposed to educate millennials on effectively leveraging social networking sites for employment. By addressing these barriers, the study contributes to mitigating inequality and discrimination in the digital labour market, offering actionable insights for policymakers, educational institutions, and employers.