Selfie appropriation by young British South Asian adults: Reifying, endorsing and reinforcing dual cultural identity in social media

Cultural identity and acculturation

Cultural identity is defined as the feeling of belonging to a group defined by certain bonds/linkage such as nationality, ethnicity, religion, generation, etc. (Ennaji, 2005). As consumers are exposed to the interaction between various co-existing cultural attributes, they are likely to exhibit complex and multifarious identities (Cleveland and Laroche, 2007). Socio-historic and political background and their influence on the extent of religiosity and consequent liberalism among various religious groups in Lebanon (Cleveland et al., 2013), the conflict between global and local cultural dispositions faced by Danish youth (Kjeldgaard and Askegaard, 2006) and the influence of normative political ideologies on African American’s shopping behaviour (Crockett and Wallendorf, 2004), for instance, explain how modern consumers are entangled within complex cultural dynamics. In a multicultural environment such as the UK, the identity of ethnic consumers is often examined through their level of acculturation.

The seminal work of Berry (1980) explains four major acculturation strategies: assimilation, integration, separation and marginalisation, which define the bipolar continuum of acculturation. His subsequent works (Berry, 1997, 2009) adhere to the initial model and a more positivist approach to analysing acculturation strategies. However, in multicultural contexts, wholesale acceptance and/or rejection of the host or ancestral culture is overly simplistic, as complex co-existence of ancestral and host cultures’ attributes among migrants can be found (Oswald, 1999; Jamal and Chapman, 2000; Weinreich, 2009), calling into question the validity of the bipolar acculturation continuum.

In consumer studies, Peñaloza (1994) suggests four outcomes of the acculturation process in the form of assimilation, resistance, maintenance and segregation. According to Schwartz et al. (2010), young Latin American migrants in the USA can at the same time be fluent in both Spanish and English and can demonstrate both individualistic and collective values in different contexts. Their practice, values and identifications can simultaneously manifest Latin, US and/or global consumer culture. Hence, ethnic communities are more likely to have dual or multiple cultural identities. Askegaard et al. (2005) emphasise the bicultural identities of ethnic minorities by identifying a new acculturation outcome, termed “pendulism”, which refers to the oscillation between acculturation and maintenance.

Weinberger (2015) has identified “appropriation strategy” for ethno-religious minorities’ (e.g. Jews and Muslims) approaches to celebrating Christmas in the USA. She has defined appropriation strategy as ethnic consumers’ deliberate effort to engage with the mainstream without losing their ancestral identity. This classification is not complete, as it does not explain the various reasons and motivations behind such duality. However, it provides a strong indication that individuals as independent agents try to negotiate the differences between their host and ancestral cultures and consciously or sub-consciously make adjustments. Hence, their cultural disposition is a dialectic outcome of the interaction and friction between the cultural differences.

While the above mentioned dualism and dialectic interrelationships have scopes for further analysis, it would be also interesting to analyse the link between cultural appropriation and technology appropriation. Information systems and consumer research scholarship can be enriched with empirical evidence and conceptual understanding of how individuals’ dual cultural identity is manifested and reified through the use and appropriation of technology. As such, this paper analyses how the appropriation of selfie as a technological application reflects and reifies cultural dualism. The following section looks into the current scholarship on technology appropriation with a view to developing stronger theoretical scaffolding and exploring scopes for future advancement.

Technology appropriation

Technology appropriation is defined as how technology is adopted, adapted and incorporated in daily lives, which involves making use of technology for purposes beyond the original intention of the designers (Dourish, 2003; Salovaara and Tamminen, 2009). The idea that appropriation involves non-linear interactions between users’ situated capabilities and technological applications is built on the structuration theory. Giddens’ (1979, 1984) sociological theory of structuration suggests that social interaction produces and reproduces social structures via the action of social agents. Human agency and structure are inextricably linked with each other. The concept has been widely used in information systems literature to examine the use of technology in organisational contexts. AST (DeSanctis and Poole, 1994) applies structuration theory in a techno-centric manner. The AST literature (Gopal et al., 1992; Chin et al., 1997), mostly driven by positivist philosophy, considers technology as a deterministic tool and assumes that faithful appropriation (use of technology in designers’ intended way) has a more positive impact on the performance/outcome. However, AST is criticised for being too rigid to explain user-end adaptation and the reciprocity of influence between collective and individual capabilities, norms and practices (Isika et al., 2015; Majchrzak et al., 2000). Hence, the dual and reciprocal interaction between technology and users’ situated capabilities are not fully captured by the AST model. Peer influence shapes and reshapes individuals’ capabilities for selfie use and subsequent interaction on social media (Chua and Chang, 2016), and hence the AST model falls short of explaining the appropriation of selfies.

Orlikowski’s (1992) duality of technology explains the reciprocal influence between technology, society and human capabilities. Orlikowski also identifies technologies’ interpretive flexibility, which denotes the physical and social construction of a technology during its development and use. In her subsequent work, she argues that technology does not have a stable structure and is subject to perpetual changes (Orlikowski, 2000), calling into question Giddens’ (1979) and AST’s assumption that technology should be equated with persistent and stable rules and resources. Similar analysis can be noticed in other IS literature that is theoretically motivated by Giddens’ works. Lindgren et al. (2004), for example, argue that an organisation’s structure of core competence (e.g. human resources, learning, routine), individualisitic agency (e.g. individuals’ competence) and the competence management system have mutual reciprocal influence, which eventually influences the design of future technological intervention. More recent academic works have expanded on Orlikowski’s (1992, 2000) arguments and presented conceptual frameworks for technology appropriation (Dey et al., 2011; Carroll et al., 2003). The dynamic nature of the adoption, use, adaptation and rejection of and resistance to technology has been captured in those frameworks. However, those models do not explain the influence of individuals’ interaction with socio-cultural and/or occupational structures and how this interaction influences appropriation and/or is reflected through the appropriation process. Carroll et al. (2003), for instance, consider social management as a criterion for appropriation, while Dey et al. (2011) do not reflect on how social practices give rise to the appropriation of technology. Ylipulli et al. (2014) advance Carroll et al.’s model for technology appropriation in urban settings. However, their empirical work mostly emphasises on the physical environment and its influence on communal use of technology, rather than beliefs, values and emic aspects of cultural dispositions.

The concept of disappropriation discussed by Dey et al. (2011) and Carroll et al. (2003) also needs to be revisited. Technology use is neither a monolithic nor a mono-dimensional phenomenon. It involves both appropriation and disappropriation. This issue has also been highlighted in consumer studies: Mick and Fouriner (1998) coined the term “paradoxes of technology”, which essentially denotes the notion that people’s perceptions and use of technology may not have linear outcomes, as people may have ambivalences regarding the use of technology.

Domestication theory (Silverstone et al., 1992) has also been used to explain appropriation at a more household and familial level. For instance, when a certain piece of technology is introduced into a household, technology appropriation extends the physical boundaries of the household into the outside world (Lim, 2016; Yoon, 2016). Consequently, the individuals within the household take possession of this technology, give meanings to that technology, thus symbolising the values of the owners and users (Lim, 2016). For example, the need for constant and mediated communication between family members may lead to extensive appropriation of ICTs such as smartphones and their apps (Yoon, 2016).

As technology spans different communities, cultures and societies, they may not have a stable and fixed form of use, interpretation and value system, indicating that socio-cultural appropriation is central to the adoption of the diffusion process (Lindtner et al., 2012). However, the current literature lacks theoretical scaffolding in conceptualising technology appropriation as an outcome of individuals’ interaction with their socio-cultural surroundings. British South Asian young adults’ expression of cultural identity through selfies can offer empirical findings to address the research gap and conceptual deficiency. The following table summarises some of the key scholarly works on appropriation, their theoretical foundations and their scope for further advancement (Table I).

From the literature review, it can be understood that both acculturation and cultural identity and appropriation scholarship have further scope for advancement. The extant acculturation literature does not fully explicate the reasons for and the nature of biculturalism and dual cultural identity. While appropriation of culture partly explains the dynamics, further research on this area would be beneficial. The appropriation literature does not fully explain how individual agents interact with socio-cultural institutions and how that interaction is reflected in the appropriation processes and outcomes. Hence, establishing links between the appropriation of culture and of technology could be a key to developing a more holistic understanding of individuals’ interaction within a given socio-cultural context, their cultural identity and their appropriation of technology.

In-depth interviews

In all, 33 respondents were selected using maximum variation purposive sampling (Bryman, 2012; Denzin and Lincoln, 2000) so that various linguistic (e.g. Punjabi, Bengali, Gujarati), religious (Muslim, Hindu, Sikh) and demographic groups (in terms of gender, occupation and income) were covered.

Both first-generation migrants and British-born South Asians were included in the sample, as education, upbringing and lifestyle are likely to be different for the two groups (Jaspal, 2015). Furthermore, acculturation literature suggests that second generation migrants are more likely to demonstrate cultural duality than the first-generation migrants (Schwartz et al. 2010). As such, a good mix of first and second generation migrants can offer different approaches and perspectives to cultural dualism. In the main, this population is more likely to be found within Great Britain’s metropolitan areas, particularly English cities. The large South Asian population and their cultural heritage in some of these cities (e.g. London, Leeds and Manchester) have received research attention (Eade, 2014; Kalra, 2014). For instance, the Bangla Town in East London and Rushhome in Manchester not only exhibit the richness of British curry industry, but also demonstrate the development of ethnic habitat, businesses and socio-religious institutions that are often argued to have influence over ethic communities’ cultural identities (Peñaloza, 1994). Furthermore, the large cities have bigger ethnic population than smaller ones and/or semi-urban areas (Demangeot et al. 2015). Hence, the South Asian population of the big cities were selected for this research. Our sampling selection takes the following information into consideration (Table II).

Mindful of the above, 33 respondents were selected from the six major metropolitan areas of Great Britain that have large South Asian populations (London and surroundings: 16 respondents; Leeds and Yorkshire: six respondents; Birmingham and the greater Midlands: four respondents; Manchester and the North West: two respondents; Newcastle and the North East: three respondents. Additionally, we also included two respondents from Glasgow.

Interview respondents were identified by making initial contact with targeted places of worship (churches, mosques, and temples), community organisations and universities. A list of respondents along with their demographic and ethnic profiles is provided in Table AI. The first author (who is fluent in spoken English, Bengali, Hindi and Urdu) conducted the in-depth interviews. Interviews took places in different locations based on the convenience of the respondents. While most of the interviews were conducted in the respondents’ houses, there were also occasions when interviews took place in places of worship and university campuses.

Netnography

Netnography is a pragmatic interactionist research approach which views the online environment as a social world. As such, online data is viewed as a social act demonstrated by online users (Giannelloni and Vernette, 2012; Kozinets, 2010). Kozinets (2010) has defined netnography as a qualitative research methodology that adapts ethnographic research techniques to the study of cultures and communities emerging through computer-mediated communications.

This method is found to be a non-obtrusive, less costly and less time-consuming way to comprehend the behaviours of online users (Langer and Beckman, 2005). It allows the researcher to immerse himself or herself into an online community’s culture: that is, its values, norms, language and rituals (Kozinets, 2010). This method focusses primarily on issues surrounding the consumer and emphasises revealing complex patterns of consumer behaviour in an online world (Misopoulos et al., 2014).

As Kozinets (2002) suggests, netnographic investigation starts with identifying appropriate online forums for the study. In this study, the interview respondents were followed on social media (Facebook) to observe their interaction and engagement with friends and family members. In total, 23 interview respondents gave permission to follow them on Facebook, as mentioned in Table AI. The purpose was to observe their selfies on social media and resulting interaction with their friends and family members. This would complement their interview response. In his brief netnography, Kozinets decoded the language, observed the consumption desire and analysed online communities’ perceptions of brands. In our research, we have defined the scope of the investigation on the basis of research objectives. The respondents’ Facebook interactions and their selfie posts were assessed on the basis of the content (which selfies/posts were shared, who was in those selfies), contexts (locations and events) and convergence (how they related to or differed from the real lives of the particular individuals, whom we came to know through the interviews). Furthermore, the interactions resulting from the posts/selfies were investigated by observing the “likes” and “comments”.

The researchers followed the procedure adopted by Kozinets et al. (2010) to investigate online bloggers. The investigation was not guided by positivist or a priori coding, but it rather undertook an interpretivist and qualitative approach. Observation of respondents’ posts and selfies took place over a one-year period so as to provide longitudinal data. In addition, the respondents’ posts from the last two years were monitored and a research diary was kept to record noteworthy posts and selfies. With the permission of the respondents, their posts and comments were copied into Nvivo for further analyses. A strict confidentiality protocol was adhered to so as to maintain the anonymity of respondents.

Analysis and interpretation

All interviews were transcribed. Four interviews were conducted in Hindi/Bengali for the convenience of the respondents. Five other interviews involved English-Hindi/Urdu or English-Bengali switching. All of the interviews were translated and transcribed in English. Two of the co-authors have proficiency in Hindi and Urdu and one is a native Bengali speaker. Translation in qualitative research can be a challenge. There are certain words which have rich meaning in South Asian countries. For instance, Wilayat (Urdu), Vilayat (Hindi) and Bilat (Bengali) mean “foreign country” according to the dictionary. However, the word in its use particularly refers to Britain. It comes from the colonial past, when the word was used to denote Britain as a more civilised and better place. Likewise the word Apna (Hindi/Urdu) means “very own”. British Asians normally use this word to refer to their own way of doing something. For instance, they use the word to explain authentic Indian/Pakistani food/recipes. Being mindful of this fact, the translation was checked amongst the co-authors, who foreignized the translation, as suggested by Dion et al. (2014). We tried to keep the tone of the statements the same and used some of the Hindi/Bengali words (e.g. deshi/desi), as was the case in some other similar research (e.g. Dey et al., 2013; Dion et al., 2014).

The interview transcripts and netnographic data were coded using the NVivo software package. Template analysis (King, 2004) was applied for data management. Template analysis is the system of thematically organising and analysing data. In this research, four broader thematic areas were identified and applied: acculturation, selfie image, use of social media and appropriation. As suggested by Waring and Wainright (2008), the codes that emerged from the data were classified under each of the broader thematic categories and then corroborated with a view to developing conceptual scaffolding. Against each theme, there were two sets of codes. Two researchers were involved in the analysis and coding. Investigator triangulation was conducted by involving one more researcher to check the codes so that manual errors and biases could be minimised (Lewis-Beck et al., 2004; Haring, 2008). While some of the codes were theory driven, others were data driven, as suggested and practiced in previous scholarly works (Chen et al., 2011; Fereday and Muir-Cochrane, 2006) (Table AII provides a list of codes and their origins). Once the information related to the research objectives had been identified, data were analysed using a constant comparative method (Rocca et al., 2014).

The appropriation of the selfie

British South Asian young adults’ acculturation and the selfie phenomenon

Understandably, due to their education and upbringing, British-born South Asians are more attached to British culture. In contrast to first-generation migrants, they find it easier to integrate with mainstream British society. As one respondent explains:

Respondent 3: I was born in Newcastle. My parents came from Sylhet in Bangladesh. I visited Bangladesh when I was very young and do not have much memories. UK is my country, my home. Most of my friends in the university are of white English origin.

As well as their engagement and interaction with their own community, some of the British-born respondents also speak their native language at home. For instance, respondent 19 (a British-born Indian) speaks Punjabi with his family members. Respondent 27 is a third-generation British Pakistani who speaks three languages: English, Punjabi and Urdu. British-born respondents, nevertheless generally have preference for South Asian foods and a taste for Hindi/Bollywood movies and music, although none of them visit their ancestral country frequently. As respondent 27 explains:

Respondent 27: […] when I was young I went to Pakistan with my parents and grandparents regularly. But, gradually most of my relatives migrated to the UK and we have very few relations back in Pakistan.

On the other hand, first-generation migrants have strong attachment to their home countries. They migrate to the UK for work/study or for a better future. However, they also endeavour to explore and learn British culture. As respondent 16 explains:

Respondent 16: […] After completing my degree, I decided to stay in this country. I like London and life in the UK. Although I miss my country, and my relatives back home, I consider this to be my new home.

Hence cultural dualism is evident in both first-generation and British-born respondents although they have different nature and orientations.

Contrary to the seminal articles in acculturation scholarship such as Peñaloza (1994) and Berry (1997, 2009), our data do not offer evidence of absolute assimilation or absolute separation. We have found strong evidence to suggest that in a multicultural country such as UK, ethnic community members exhibit cultural duality as part of their acculturation strategies, as they adopt certain traits from the host country and also retain traits of their ancestral countries. Based on these findings, four factors motivating acculturation strategies can be identified: consonances, contexts, conveniences and constraints. These factors determine British South Asian communities’ cultural duality and have been identified and termed on the basis of the data gathered in this research (as mentioned in Table AII).

Formation of dual cultural identity through cultural appropriation

Based on the findings, we have identified four motivating factors of acculturation strategies that lead to cultural duality: consonances, contexts, conveniences and constraints. The British-born respondents show their appreciation and interest in host cultures and they feel more comfortable with cultural attributes that have agreement and compatibility with the wider British community. This also happens for some of the first-generation migrants who choose to integrate with the wider society. As such, some respondents in this research express their pride in Bollywood culture that is recognised in wider British society (as discussed in the findings section). “Acculturation by constraints” refers to the situation when migrants integrate with wider communities for locational, occupational and educational reasons. Unlike “pendulism” (Askegaard et al., 2005), which refers to more volitional and elective decisions to move between the host and the ancestral culture, this group of migrants integrate due to situational “constraints”. This classification adds a different dimension in explaining acculturation strategies. The migrants acculturating by constraints are not “separated” from the mainstream in the way Berry (1980) explains. Although they show some kind of “resistance”, as defined by Peñaloza (1994), their resistance does not lead to complete segregation.

“Convenience” explains some of the ambiguities and paradoxes surrounding biculturalism and dual or multiple identities. Here we find consumers acting like pragmatic and often opportunist agents who conveniently choose cultural attributes that suit their living in multicultural environments. They can manage to keep the influence of both the host and the ancestral culture to a limited level. However, they show less desire to integrate and assimilate compared to those who show different cultural traits in different “contexts” – our fourth category. This is closer to “pendulism”, although our classification implies a more assertive intent than Askegaard et al. (2005) found among their respondents. Furthermore, their interaction in the multicultural environment is not driven by oscillation, but rather by contextually defined expectations.

This quadripartite classification provides further insights into cultural dualism and appropriation of culture as described by Weinberger (2015). The factors of acculturation strategies identified in this research explain cultural dualism and appropriation of culture. The next section investigates how this appropriation of culture relates to the appropriation of technology.

Selfie appropriation

The findings suggest that respondents adopt selfies for hedonic, social and psychological reasons. However, the focus of this study is on how the appropriation of selfies relates to their cultural identity. The complex and often contradictory expression of cultural dispositions, as the findings suggest, are expressed on the social media marketplace through selfies. We argue that the extended “self” of an individual in the virtual world is reified through the selfie. Furthermore, due to the fact that on social media, the selfie comes as a “complete package” with explicit and implicit expression of other tangible features and physical evidence, it is a reflection of self-identity that is much closer to one’s “actual self”. For instance, when we see that all the selfies posted by some respondents (acculturation due to constraints) only include their own community members, it appears that their day-to-day engagement with other community members in the offline world may often be enforced by situational/locational reasons. In effect, they desire to adhere to their own community members. Hence, a comparison between their virtual and real-life interactions reveals their acculturation by constraints. At the same time, selfies on social media exhibit their actual intent to belong to a particular community, which they are unable to do in the real world.

Overall, we concur with Orlikowski (1992, 2000) apropos the selfie as a technology that replaces previous social practice. Through the repetitive reproduction of this practice by a large number of the population, the selfie is gradually becoming an integral part of daily lives. This is consistent with socio-cultural theories in which appropriation is seen as the transformative process a technology undergoes, whereby introduction of technology initiates changes in social practice. Again, the use of technology (selfies) itself is supported by other social practices (use of social media) and reifies changes in human and social interactions. As such, the selfie phenomenon is one of those technological applications that become embedded in our virtual and real lives and demonstrate the iterative and spiralling interaction between the two spheres (virtual and real life). Here we concur with the current appropriation literature (Dey et al., 2011; Carroll et al., 2003) in terms of the appropriation process. However, we argue that appropriation and disappropriation are neither binary nor mutually exclusive. Users may appropriate a technological application in a particular context, while disappropriating the same in other situations. When a respondent decides not to have a selfie inside a pub, she disappropriates, but the same respondent exhibits use of selfies in other contexts. It is not only about where and with whom selfies can be taken: it is also important to study the situations and individuals that would be included/avoided when taking selfies.

Link between technology appropriation and cultural appropriation

We extend the concept of appropriation by identifying and analysing how individuals’ appropriation in socio-cultural behaviour influences and determines technology appropriation processes and outcomes.

Selfies reify cultural identity. We argue that social media is increasingly narrowing the gap between virtual and real life by portraying more tangible aspects of our real life not only in terms of clothes and fashions but also through their appearance, locational settings and other physical evidence. The popularity of selfie practices inside cars, trains and aeroplanes was noted, as people wanted to share the pleasure of certain special journeys or travelling experiences. Hence, the selfie can work as a tangible expression of a situation, moment, emotion or experience.

Selfies endorse and reinforce cultural identity. The dual cultural identity discussed earlier in this section is constructed in the real world and is often endorsed and reinforced through selfies in the social media. There is iteration between the selfie phenomenon and cultural identity. It was noticed that respondents preferred selfies with cricket stars and Bollywood stars: the selfie creates the identity, and through its sharing in social media and the resulting interaction with friends and family members, individuals’ identity is endorsed and reinforced. While the current literature (Ma et al., 2017; Chua and Chang, 2016) also argues that selfies reify consumers’ (un)willingness to express the physical environments, our research also brings in the emic aspects of cultural dispositions.

Theoretical contributions

The nature of and motivation for acculturation strategies discussed in this paper explain why and how cultural appropriation occurs and influences cultural identity, particularly in a multicultural environment, and thereby advance current scholarship in acculturation. Although this research speaks for a specific context of British South Asians’ appropriation of selfies in a multicultural environment, the findings and contributions can be generalised. Cultural appropriation can happen even in a more homogenous country where people negotiate between local culture and global culture (Cleveland et al., 2013). It can happen in any situation where people are exposed to multiple cultural attributes and seek to adopt, adapt and adjust cultural dispositions. People’s behaviour may be constrained by situational factors, may be in response to contextual requirements, may be driven by the principles of convenience or may be a result of volitional choice – as identified in this paper. Hence, this paper addresses the current knowledge gap by explaining the dualism and paradoxes that constitute cultural appropriation, and in turn shape cultural identity. While our research focusses on social and ethnic culture, similar dichotomies may exist for organisational cultures.

Nevertheless, the major theoretical contribution of this paper comes with the furthering of technology appropriation theory as it integrates cultural appropriation into its dynamics. The current technology appropriation literature (Dey et al., 2011; Carroll et al., 2003; Lindtner et al., 2012) does not fully explain the role of individuals’ interaction with socio-cultural institutions in shaping and determining appropriation processes and outcomes. We argue that the appropriation of culture has reciprocal influence on technology appropriation and they reify each other. Hence, the appropriation goes through a spiralling and iterative process of mutual shaping of culture and technology use that leads to the expression of cultural identity in a given context. This is a new dimension added to both consumer studies and appropriation literature. Aricat (2015) and Bar et al. (2007) also emphasise cultural expression through technology appropriation – but do not explain the dialectical adoption and evolution of culture through technology use. This paper also argues that appropriation and disappropriation are not binary or mutually exclusive phenomena, but rather depend much on contexts and applications. People may appropriate a technology in a certain situation, but disappropriate the same in other contexts.

Practical implications

First of all, this paper offers useful means for segmenting ethnic customers. The concept of acculturation by consonances would be useful for South Asian brands such as Patak’s, Cobra and Kingfisher that have acceptability amongst the wider British population. Their brand identities, South Asian origin and presence in British society would resonate with the dual cultural identity of British South Asians. Acculturation by contexts can be used by the fashion industry. Ethnic clothing and jewellery brands such as Khadi can highlight the contextually appropriate use of their products. International airlines companies, hotels and tourism industry may also benefit from this particular pattern as ethnic consumers falling in this category are not rigid to any particular cultural disposition. Acculturation by constraints can provide a useful understanding for Government and not-government organisations that promote cross-cultural interaction to combat social exclusion, ethnic segregation and religious extremism. People may suffer from segregation and separation even if they live and work with wider communities. Finally, religious brands and products (such as sweets in Diwali, juice during Ramadhan) can target the acculturation by convenience. Businesses can also try different approaches for their different product categories. BBC Asian Network have different sets of programmes – their Bhangra fusion and Bollywood music normally target both first and second generation migrants, while their classic Hindi/Urdu songs attract first-generation migrants.

Furthermore, our research suggests selfies reflect the cultural duality and thereby can be used for both customer segmentation and communication/engagement. Customers’ selfies on Facebook/Instagram hence can be used to analyse their cultural identity. As such, managers who apprise themselves of the selfie phenomenon of the ethnic group are better placed to meet their consumer needs. Account, therefore, should be taken of their bicultural identity that is shaped by demonstrable traits apropos religiosity and social, communal, and familial bonding. Selfie practice can bolster the co-creation of brand identity and provide opportunities to identify synergy between brands’ and their target consumers’ images. It is also important for companies to be aware of the paradoxes and dichotomies. Selfies in certain places (e.g. pubs and nightclubs) may not be appreciated by certain quarters of South Asian communities.

Limitation

The research did not engage with the most vulnerable and marginalised members of British South Asian communities, and hence this paper is unable to explain their cultural identities. It does not cover minors or senior citizens either. Future research could investigate how the selfie phenomenon exhibits the cultural identity of the host community and/or other ethnic minority communities in Great Britain. It would be fascinating to see whether or not the host community demonstrates dual and multiple cultural identities due to their regular interactions with a number of migrant communities. Research could also be conducted on the South Asian diaspora in other countries such as the USA and Australia to examine how their cultural identity in the social media marketplace is exhibited.