Emerging Elitism on Facebook: An Investigation into Social Distinction among the Young

Abstract

This research paper presents an empirical investigation into the taste practices of young individuals on Facebook. This includes an examination of Pierre Bourdieu’s main thesis of social distinction as outlined in La distinction and its applicability to contemporary times. The argument is developed that a Kantian aesthetic functions as a guiding principle for practices of “legitimate” taste, thereby confirming mechanisms of social distinction in a Bourdieusian sense. This paper further argues that the principle of Kantian aesthetics applies particularly to displays of cosmopolitan aesthetics among young, well-educated individuals on Facebook. In this way, it is argued that mechanisms of legitimacy, convertibility, and domination were identified during the field observation, supporting the contemporariness of cultural capital in a digital field and Bourdieu’s thesis of social distinction.