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

"Selfies have been subjected to scholarly scrutiny over the past decade. But this collection of essays on 'the social life of selfies in India' brings a refreshing and important localized take on the tactility, temporality, and technique of the selfie. Contributors draw from a variety of disciplines including Sociology, Fan Studies, Urban Studies, and Media Studies to interrogate the evolutionary role of selfies among various grassroots groups in one of the most populous countries globally. Considering established social media like Instagram, newer social media like TikTok, and messaging apps like WhatsApp, the collection unravels how selfies are constructed and deployed by identity groups including young men and domestic labourers, and interest groups including tourists, fans, and avid readers. Collectively, these emotive stories question the socio-cultural impacts of selfies as product and praxis, and their enduring ability to shape human understanding one snap at a time."

Crystal Abidin, Digital Anthropologist; Co-editor of Mediated Interfaces: The Body on Social Media

"This book is a nuanced addition to the growing body of research on digital affects and expressions. The selfie is approached as an operative, allusive, and purposive cultural artefact in this volume of grounded and enthralling essays. From teasing out contexts of selfie production and circulation, deeming a selfie consumer worthy and stitching selfies as aesthetic practices to produce 'affect' are some of the incisive propositions in the volume. Selfies as a framing device to depict not only the idiosyncratic personality or singular political engagements but also the prosaic routines of humdrum living are other rewarding elements in this glittering collection."

Nimmi Rangaswamy, Professor, Kohli Centre for Intelligent Systems, Indian Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad