On Thursday, 7th March, 2019, Siti Mazidah Haji Mohamad gave a FASS seminar titled 'Mobile Youth: Self-Branding and Self-Promotion on Instagram' describing the research she has conducted on self-promotion via Instagram by young people in Brunei.

Internet access

Brunei has the fourth highest rate of Internet access and the highest rate of Instagram usage in the world.

The current research is based on semi-structured interviews with 26 users aged 18 to 35 years, including 18 micro-celebrities based on the number of their followers.

Instagram usage

In a 2018 interview in The Scoop, one such local celebrity, Khairul Anwar (@Babusinur), said: "I started making videos three years ago after graduating from Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD). The job opportunities [in Brunei] are limited and after applying for jobs and receiving countless rejections, I needed an outlet for me to be creative. I needed to think of something substantial because I needed to survive. I didn’t want to depend on my parents because they also depend on me. I kept telling myself that I need to invest in my creativity."

@Babusinur