DIGITAL TASTES: Social class and young people's technology use

Abstract

Informed by Bourdieu's notions of habitus and taste, and Raymond Williams' notion of cultural form, this article considers the relationship between young people's use of technology and social class. Drawing on the findings of case studies of 25 Australian 15-year-olds, the article suggests that there is a strong link between technology use and class. We argue that markers of class such as parents' level of education and occupation inform the habitus of young people which, in turn, influences their digital tastes. The case studies set out to explore young people's digital communication practices at home and in school. The findings show the importance of habitus in young people's engagement with and interest in digital technologies. We found that new experiences, objects, actions and accomplishments using digital technologies were accepted as valuable or rejected depending on how well they fit with already existing thoughts and processes incorporated into the young people's habitus. Apart from common teenage interests such as music, young people's tastes are influenced by their social background. For schools to equip young people with the skills to participate and communicate in an increasingly digital world, an expansion in ICT resources is not the sole solution. The article concludes that the link between cultural capital, habitus and cultural form produces a socially entrenched digital inequality rather than an economically entrenched digital divide.

Keywords:

• information and communication technology
• Bourdieu
• taste
• habitus
• cultural capital
• cultural form

Acknowledgements

This study was funded by the Australia Research Council.