Algorithmic Exclusion and Neurodivergent Users: How Platform Design Shapes Belonging and Mental Health Online

Social media platforms have become central to social participation, identity formation, and community belonging. However, algorithmic systems that underpin recommendation engines, content moderation tools, and engagement optimisation functions are predominantly designed around neurotypical patterns of behaviour and social interaction. This conceptual review examines algorithmic exclusion as it relates to neurodivergent users, with emphasis on autistic adults and individuals with ADHD in the United Kingdom. Drawing on critical algorithm studies, the neurodiversity paradigm, person–environment fit theory, and the social model of disability, this paper develops the Neurodivergent Algorithmic Misfit (NAM) framework. The NAM framework identifies four dimensions of algorithmic exclusion: attentional exploitation, social ambiguity amplification, identity suppression, and community fragmentation. The paper concludes by advocating for neurodiversity-inclusive platform design grounded in co-production with neurodivergent communities, and outlines implications for platform governance, digital inclusion policy, and future empirical research.