Adan is an avid Instagram user. She describes social media as this generation's "version of standing in the street and shouting something out".



Before social media, she says, a lot of published news about events in Somalia lacked actual Somali input, or that input came from limited perspectives. “Without this, we would still have older Somalis stealing the limelight to represent 'Somali views', when in reality, they never spoke for anyone in the community," she says. "Social media has [created] the opportunity for you to connect with someone on the other side of the world who you have one thing in common with, which is your Somalinimo [Somali identity].

Social media has also allowed members of the Somali diaspora to learn about social justice efforts in the country and contribute to those causes, Adan says. For example, "British-Somali uni students raised over £45,000 for the famine and drought in Somalia in their Somali societies by creating a narrative via social media. ... There have been many instances in which Somalis have complained about not having anyone to tell our narrative. But my simple advice is if there's no one to tell it, you tell it, you reclaim it. Utilize platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube to create a space through which we can support one another.

“There's a Somali proverb, 'ka muuqo ama ka maaqno', which means 'be seen or be absent'. And that's what you have to do to claim our stories. Tell it ourselves.”

When asked about being a woman in the Somali media industry, Adan says: “It’s dominated by men. Journalists are men ... and even they find it fascinating to see a Somali girl [actively working as a photographer]."

