How diasporic Indian vloggers are turning everyday life into digital diaries

Once a glossy Karan Johar fantasy—Swiss meadows and perfect families—the portrayal of the Indian diaspora today is about Costco queues, IKEA screwdrivers, and life as it really is. And somehow, that’s far more interesting

Once the stuff of Karan Johar’s cinematic fantasy, the lives of the Indian diaspora have now traded Swiss meadows for Costco aisles. Johar’s impeccably styled characters, gliding through glamorous lives, have been swapped out for social media influencers and vloggers documenting the realities of life abroad where childcare costs sting, onions come with a premium, and festivals are celebrated in cramped suburban kitchens. The fantasy has faded, but what’s emerged instead is something far more compelling: authenticity.

What was once a distant curiosity on the big screen is becoming an everyday connection. Thanks to social media and YouTube, diaspora vloggers now offer Indian audiences an intimate view into their lives, bridging the gap between “home” and “away.”

Take Mahua Ganguly—known to her 935,000 followers as Probase Ghorkonna (“homemaker in a foreign land” in Bengali)—for instance. Through her vlogs, she shares the everyday rhythms of suburban Californian life: updates on hibiscus plants from Target, snippets of school drop-offs, and the chaos of breakfast prep. It’s the kind of mundane that, surprisingly, resonates with viewers thousands of miles away. 

“Vlogs have always been popular because they’re easy to create,” says writer and content creator Ria Chopra. With online platforms allowing almost anybody to produce and share content, vlogs have become the “lowest common denominator” in terms of accessibility. 

The reach of such content has grown exponentially alongside internet usage in India. At the start of 2024, over 52.4 per cent of Indians (751.5 million) were online, with consumption of regional content leading the charge. In urban India, as of 2023, 57 per cent of users prefer consuming content in regional languages, with 84 per cent of these users preferring video content. For diaspora vloggers producing content in Bengali, Tamil, or Hindi, this means tapping into an audience that is not only larger but also increasingly engaged through their smartphones.

A Sub-Culture of Connection

At the core of this transformation is the participatory relationship between content creators on Instagram or other platforms and their audiences. Indian vloggers living abroad don’t just document their day-to-day lives; they actively engage with their viewers, often shaping their content based on the feedback they receive.

“Their content is blurring the lines between creator and audience,” says content strategist Prerona Mukherjee. It’s no longer a one-way broadcast. Diaspora creators are essentially co-creating with their viewers, responding to requests and questions in real time. Chopra, who co-authored a report on Gen Z’s online consumption patterns, notes a shift towards “more unfiltered, low-edited, more authentic content. So instead of watching studio-shot, high-fashion videos, people are instead watching ‘Get Ready With Me (GRWM)’ versions inside personal closets of digital creators.”

Gaurav Batra, co-founder of Hum Tum In England, echoes this sentiment. “From suggesting topics [like cost-of-living breakdowns], to asking for detailed ‘how-to’ guides, our audience directly influences the type of content we produce. For instance, our video series on navigating the processes for a UK visa and buying a home developed from multiple requests—the response was overwhelmingly positive.” 

This connection fosters a sense of community. When Batra bought a house and shared the process online, “One viewer messaged us that it feels like their close family has bought a house.These viewers really connected to what we put out there, making them feel as if they have their own family in the UK. These moments validate our efforts and inspire us to keep sharing our personal stories.”

If we were to dig deeper, these trends reflect the psychological consequences of excessive social media consumption. “People are realising life on social media can be extremely fake. Hence they are naturally feeling more aligned to such organic content,” adds Chopra.

Money Matters

What began as casual storytelling has grown into a modern archive of diaspora life, captivating millions. While the content of NRI (Non-Resident Indian) vloggers finds familiarity on home turf, the  road to monetising from social media is rarely straightforward. Platforms like YouTube require content creators to meet a threshold of 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours to start earning, and even then, income can be erratic based on growth metrics. “[Revenues] completely depend upon the views for that month. So it’s a range that we need to consider, not any specific number,” explains food vlogger Bong Insane—who goes by ‘Shonai’—on her YouTube channel. 

While there isn’t a clear consensus on average earnings for all NRI vloggers, the potential for income varies significantly, depending on location, niche, and engagement levels. 

Mukherjee notes, "The pay range for an NRI vlogger can be very fluid. Some YouTubers make a whopping $191.4k per month while others earn about $972 per month, based on their engagement metrics and sponsored deals.” Chauhan further shares some insights into the pay structure per video in Norway. "In Norway, YouTube earnings for NRI vloggers can range from ₹40,000 to ₹1,60,000 ($473 to $1895) per video, depending on the niche and audience engagement, as Norwegian CPM rates are high—I think it’s one of the highest. The second is Switzerland. Sponsorships and brand deals often add significant income, further boosting revenue." The unpredictability then makes consistent engagement crucial for creators to sustain themselves. 

Building trust and familiarity

Despite these challenges, authenticity remains their strongest currency. “We’re very intentional about keeping our content authentic and unfiltered because that’s how life truly is,” says Shailja Chauhan, co-founder of YouTube channel Namaste from Norway. “Sharing the ups and downs makes us more relatable, and audiences appreciate seeing the real side of our journey. It builds trust and connection.” Mukherjee notes. “Raw, unscripted videos build trust and community—factors essential for success on social media.”

Beyond their routines, many vloggers address topics that matter—visa regulations, healthcare benefits, and even sensitive issues like racism. The Bong Girl in US, for instance, shared her experiences of discrimination in Missouri and the impact it had on her mental health. Such candidness gives followers an unvarnished view of the diaspora experience, building trust and loyalty.

For viewers like Raghav Sharma, a tech engineer in Pune, diaspora vlogs offer more than stories; they’re roadmaps. “These vlogs are like a step-by-step guide formulated by your college seniors and distributed among us so that we may pass the exam well,” he says. 

It’s not just inspiration or practicality that sets these creators apart. They are creating an entirely new cultural narrative. By documenting the dualities of life abroad—blending Lakshmi Puja with Halloween decorations or switching seamlessly between regional dialects with international contexts—they’re reshaping how we view the diaspora experience.

In dismantling Bollywood’s fantasy of the NRI, these creators replace it with authenticity, showcasing that the diaspora is not a monolith but an ever-evolving entity—one where identity is shaped not by perfection but by the interplay of tradition and modernity, and life becomes a series of choices: what to adapt and what to preserve.

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