FOMO To Flex, WhatsApp Warrior To Instagram OG: PM Modi's Gen Z Glow-Up At 76

From WhatsApp groups to Instagram reels sprinkled with OG, flex and FOMO, PM Modi keeps reinventing his digital self. Here's his glow-up, as he turns 76.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi turns 76 on Thursday, capping 25 years in public life spent constantly rewriting how he talks to India — and now, to its youngest voters. From WhatsApp groups and X threads to Instagram reels sprinkled with “OG," “flex" and “FOMO," here’s how the PM keeps reinventing his digital self.

Long before Instagram, Modi had already built a reputation as one of the earliest and most consistent political adopters of new media in India. He’s used the platform himself since 2014, according to PMO officials, and has repeatedly pushed his own Cabinet to follow — telling ministers as far back as a January 2023 council meeting that social media had become the main news source for young Indians. That instinct is now playing out again, this time aimed squarely at Gen Z.