Representative Participant Quotes
Anonymized excerpts from interviews (November-December 2024)
Identity and Expression Online
Quote 1 – Second-generation Nigerian participant, age 29, Marketing Professional: “I have to be different people on different apps. LinkedIn doesn’t understand my background affects my career. Instagram doesn’t get why I celebrate Eid differently than my friends back home. WhatsApp is just family drama. Where do I get to be all of me?”
Quote 2 – First-generation Bangladeshi participant, age 34, Teacher: “When I post about Eid celebrations, my British colleagues like it but they don’t really understand. When I explain too much, it feels like I’m performing being Muslim rather than just being myself. So I just… share less and less.”
Quote 3 – Second-generation Polish participant, age 42, Software Developer: “LinkedIn is supposed to be professional, but my Polish name gets mispronounced in every video call. I want mentors who understand that my family expects me to send money home, but how do I find that on a platform that pretends culture doesn’t affect careers?”
Community Size and Authenticity
Quote 4 – Third-generation Indian participant, age 26, Graduate Student: “In the big Facebook groups, I’m just another brown person posting curry photos. But in our local temple’s WhatsApp group of maybe 50 people, I can ask real questions about balancing tradition with dating someone who’s not Indian. That’s where actual support happens.”
Quote 5 – First-generation Syrian participant, age 38, Accountant: “The Syrian community Facebook page has 2,000 members. Everyone’s watching, judging. But our small Telegram group for Syrian mums in Manchester? We share everything – NHS struggles, school problems, recipes. It’s safe there.”
Platform Frustrations and Needs
Quote 6 – Second-generation Jamaican participant, age 31, Nurse: “TikTok loves when I post about Caribbean culture during Black History Month, but ignore me the rest of the year. I’m not your diversity content. I just want to share my grandmother’s stories without it becoming a trend.”
Quote 7 – First-generation Pakistani participant, age 45, Business Owner: “I speak three languages in one conversation – English with Urdu phrases and Arabic for prayers. But social media treats each language like separate people. My communication style doesn’t fit their boxes.”
Economic Investment and Platform Value
Quote 8 – Second-generation Iranian participant, age 35, Doctor: “I’d absolutely pay £10 monthly for a platform that understood Persian New Year isn’t ‘exotic content’ but just… my life. Where I could network professionally with other Iranians who get the family pressure and career expectations. That would be worth more than Netflix to me.”
Mental Health and Belonging
Quote 9 – First-generation Somali participant, age 28, Social Worker: “I spend hours on Instagram and Facebook but feel completely alone. Nobody understands why I wear hijab to the gym or why I can’t grab drinks after work. I’m hypervisible as ‘the Muslim girl’ but invisible as a whole person.”
Quote 10 – Second-generation Chinese participant, age 33, Finance Manager: “My parents use WeChat to connect with Chinese community – it just works for them. But I’m stuck between Instagram where I’m ‘the Asian friend’ and WeChat where I’m ‘the westernized daughter.’ I need something that lets me be British-Chinese, not choose one or the other.”
Note: All quotes have been anonymized and some details altered to protect participant privacy while preserving the authentic voice and sentiment of responses.