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Days of unrest in Nepal have resulted in the ousting of a deeply unpopular government and the .

The —so-called due to the predominance of young Nepalese among the demonstrators—appeared to have quieted down with the appointment on Sept. 12, 2025, of .

But the protests leave behind dozens of burned government offices, destroyed business centers and .

The experience has also underscored the importance of social media in Nepal, as well as the consequences of government attempts to control the flow of online information.

the and other emerging technologies. Being based in Kathmandu, I have watched firsthand as what began as a protest over a short-lived ban on social media snowballed into something far greater, leading to the .

Indeed, social media has played a crucial role in this ongoing turmoil in two ways. First, the government's decision on Sept. 4 served as the immediate catalyst to the unrest. It among a generation for whom digital spaces are central not only to communication, identity and political expression, but also to education and economic opportunities.

And second, the pervasive use of these platforms primed the nation's youth for this moment of protest. It heightened Gen Z's awareness of the country's entrenched . By sharing stories of corruption, privilege and inequality, social media not only informed but also galvanized Nepal's youth, motivating collective mobilization against the country's systemic injustice.

The role of social media

As with many other nations, social media is central to daily life and commerce in Nepal, a situated between two Asian giants: China and India.

As of January 2025, had social media accounts. some 13.5 million active Facebook users, 3.6 million Instagram users, 1.5 million LinkedIn users and 466,100 X users.

Indeed, social media platforms in the country and serve as vital channels for business and communication. Many users in Nepal depend on these platforms to .

As such, the government's decision to sparked immediate concern among the Nepalese public.

The move wasn't completely out of the blue. Nepal's government has long been concerned over the growth of social media platforms.

In November 2023, the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology introduced , requiring platforms to register with the government, set up a local contact point, appoint a grievance officer and designate an oversight official. Platforms were also obliged to cooperate in criminal investigations, remove illegal content and .

The Nepalese government, citing , said the measures were to ensure accountability and make operators . Then, in January 2025, the government introduced a that .

Censorship concerns

Regardless of their intent, these government measures sparked immediate civil liberties concerns. Critics and rights groups argued that both the ban and the bill function as tools for censorship, .

Ncell, Nepal's , noted that shutting down all platforms at once was, in any case, technically difficult and warned that the move would severely impact business. Small business owners, who rely on social media to promote and sell their products, were especially worried with a .

The ban also had significant implications for education. Many students rely on social media platforms to access online classes, research materials and . More generally, the Nepalese public criticized the government's measures disproportionate impact on ordinary users.

As such, this deep reliance on social media by Nepalese society turned the ban into a flashpoint for public dissent.

The rise of #NepoKids

Even before the protests began on Sept. 8, the pervasive use of social media, along with exposure to content showcasing inequality and elite privilege, had heightened Gen Z's awareness of Nepal's .

A few weeks before the protests began, the hashtags #NepoBaby and #NepoKids began trending, fueled by .

The content drew attention to by contrasting the lives of the children of the country's elite—with designer clothing and foreign vacations—with images of Nepali migrant workers returning home in coffins from dangerous jobs abroad.

The hashtag campaigns gained traction on TikTok and Reddit, leading to calls for asset investigations, anti-corruption reforms and even transferring the assets of the wealthy .

One particularly notable viral video featured the posing in front of a .

Such posts served to further fuel public .

The immediacy and interactivity of social media platforms amplified the outrage, encouraging group mobilization. In this way, social media acted both as a magnifier and accelerator, linking perceived injustice to on-the-ground activism and shaping how the movement unfolded even before the Sept. 8 protests began.

A deeper story of hardship and corruption

Yet a social media campaign is nothing without a root cause to shine a light on.

Economic insecurity and political corruption have for years left many of Nepal's youth frustrated, setting the stage for today's protest movement. While the overall , the youth unemployment rate stood .

But these figures only scratch the surface of Nepal's deep economic problems, which include pervasive vulnerable employment—informal and insecure work that is —and limited opportunities that constrain long-term productivity.

Between 2010 and 2018, fewer than half of new entrants into the workforce secured formal, stable jobs; the remainder were primarily engaged in informal or precarious work, which often lacked consistent income, benefits or legal protections. Most available positions are informal, poorly compensated and offer .

All told, children born in Nepal today face a grim economic reality. By age 18, they are likely to achieve only about —that is, the maximum economic output they could reach if they had full access to quality health, nutrition and education.

Meanwhile, corruption is widespread. In 2024, Nepal ranked 107th out of 180 countries on Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index, with 84% of people .

An upshot of corruption is the growing influence of Nepal's politically connected business elite, who shape laws and regulations to benefit themselves. In the process, they secure tax breaks, inflate budgets and create monopolies that block competition.

This capture of public policy by an entrenched elite stifles economic growth, crowds out genuine entrepreneurs and exacerbates inequality, while .

Combined, these economic and political pressures created fertile ground for social mobilization. While persistent hardships helped fuel the rise of the #Nepokids movement, it was social media that gave voice to Nepali youths' frustration.

When the government attempted to silence them through a ban on social media platforms, it proved to be a step too far.

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