CRIS Scientific Seminar 2024-2025

Friday, November 15th 2024, 11:30 am
Sciences Po, Room K011 (1, St-Thomas)

Technologies of Distinction:
The Social Stratification in Young People's Video Consumption

Abel Aussant

PhD Candidate (Sciences Po-CRIS)

Since the 90s, sociologists have revisited Pierre Bourdieu’s theories on the social stratification of cultural consumption. This revision has shifted attention from exclusive cultural legitimacy to the rise of diversity and omnivorousness in cultural tastes. Youth, often seen as highly responsive to mass media, have been positioned at the forefront of this transformation, where symbolic boundaries between social classes appear to blur. However, over the past two decades, new forms of cultural consumption, driven by technological advances, challenge the assumption of homogenization in cultural practices.

This communication, confront homogenization assertions by focusing on the social stratification of audiovisual consumption practices, particularly through modes of access. This approach moves beyond analyzing taste preferences to investigate how individuals access cultural goods—considering consumption contexts and technologies used.

Using data from the 2018 French "Pratiques Culturelles" survey (N=9238) and applying geometric data analysis (MCA) and regression models, the research reveals that youth consumption patterns remain segmented by education and social origin. These findings counter the "digital-native" narrative, which assumes universal engagement with digital culture among young people. Instead, the study highlights the persistence of stratification in consumption modes, with technology choices serving as markers of distinction.

This research bridges digital inequality literature with the sociology of cultural practices, arguing that technology choices should be understood not just as reflections of skills but as symbols of distinction. Bourdieu's framework of cultural free will among the upper class and choice by necessity in the working class remains relevant for understanding these consumption patterns.

Open seminar. Please register here to join us.