the good

The internet and its by-products, like social media, have re-defined what it means to consume content as the lines between producer and consumer are now blurred. The relatively accessible nature of social media sites like Instagram allows for users to post, share, and interact with each other's content thereby, enabling them to actively shape and contribute to different narratives. While this also means that these narratives are always in flux, social media users are still able to challenge and shape what it means to 'be' South Asian through various outlets - even when users are not actively seeking to contribute to this discourse, social media still provides the means through which they are introduced to counternarratives that challenge sociocultural tropes. The sheer existence of these counternarratives - whether it's through accounts aimed at actively questioning and resisting normative thinking or it's through individual users simply existing within this space - challenges the one-dimensionality seen in South Asian media representation. ​

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This resistance does come with its challenges - social media accounts have to figure out how to navigate the algorithm in order for their content to reach the users its meant to serve and users have to actively find new ways to break free from the 'filter bubble' created within their timelines. While the internet provides individual accounts and users with the element of choice and the autonomy to engage with content of their liking, the kind of content they interact with is continually influenced by the algorithms behind their feeds and timelines; which, in turn, are centered around the platforms' monetary interests*. 

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In this context, 'the good' section of The Beyond Apu project aims to highlight and celebrate various changemakers - active spaces of resistance and identity reclamation - that reside on Instagram and are re-shaping the very essence of the South Asian narrative, one post at a time. To read more, you can explore any of the categories listed below.​

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* If you would like to read more about how the platform's monetary interests affect your social media feed, you can check out this project that I did for my Digital Media Ethics class.