Digital Expressions of the Self(ie): The Social Life of Selfies in India

Oct 6, 2025

In this engaging discussion, Avishek Ray, an Associate Professor of Cultural Studies, explores the fascinating world of selfies in India. He reveals how selfies redefine social identities, influence gender norms, and even engage with political discourse. Ray highlights the unique interplay of class and caste within selfie culture, and he probes into how platforms like Instagram and Facebook shape these practices. With insightful anecdotes from diverse Indian cities, he elevates the humble selfie to a vital tool for self-expression and community connection.

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INSIGHT

Selfies As Social Performance

Avishek Ray argues that selfies are not trivial; they are performances that carry social weight.
He says selfies function as acts of self-making, negotiation, and control in India.

ANECDOTE

Diverse Field Examples Across India

Ray describes fieldwork across Delhi, Kolkata, and workplaces showing varied selfie practices like choreographed reels and 'insta-worthy' cafes.
He also documents compulsory selfies for workers and object selfies like staged book photos.

INSIGHT

Platform Shape And Social Meaning

Platform affordances and users' class and gender shape what selfies look like and where they circulate.
Ray notes Instagram skews younger and visual, Facebook reaches older groups, and WhatsApp remains intimate and understudied.

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Selfies are more than fleeting images—across India, they shape how people imagine themselves, connect with others, and inhabit spaces.

In this episode of the Nordic Asia Podcast, Prof. Xenia Zeiler from the University of Helsinki talks to Prof. Avishek Ray about his co-authored book Digital Expressions of the Self(ie): The Social Life of Selfies in India. This book explores how the digital selfie, unlike traditional photography, turns the lens inward while reconfiguring social identities, gender norms, power relations, and everyday interactions. Drawing on rich, situated examples, it shows how selfies operate as acts of self-making and place-making in contemporary India. At once playful and political, intimate and public, selfies offer a fascinating entry point into the fast-changing cultures of digital media and visual expression.

Avishek Ray is Associate Professor of Cultural Studies at the National Institute of Technology Silchar, India. His research spans mobility, marginality, and digital culture, with a focus on South Asia. He is the author of The Vagabond in the South Asian Imagination (Routledge, 2022) and co-author of Digital Expressions of the Self(ie): The Social Life of Selfies in India (Routledge, 2024). A Fulbright-Nehru Fellow (2021), he has held visiting fellowships at institutions across Europe, North America, and Asia.

Xenia Zeiler is Professor of South Asian Studies at the University of Helsinki. Her research and teaching are situated at the intersection of digital media, culture, and society, specifically as related to India and global Indian communities. Her focus within this wider field of digital culture is video games and gaming research, in India and beyond. She also researches and teaches digital religion, popular culture, cultural heritage, and mediatization processes.

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