How the sharing and digital economies are democratising the status game
As cultural and status signifiers have become more accessible, the markers that denote one’s status have becoming increasingly blurred.
Consumption has traditionally been a reliable indicator of social status. In today’s marketplace, however, sharing and digital economies are making signifiers of affluence and high culture more accessible than ever, and the markers that denote one’s position in 'the status game' are becoming increasingly blurred.
In the research paper The democratization of the status game, the authors posit that in an increasingly digitalised and platformised social and material world, the market changes and democratises the status game. It emerges as a catalyst for adaptability, enabling more people than before to transcend or reshape embodied resources and emulate high status positions more easily.
This does not mean that social class has lost its role; rather it puts into question what is considered a high-status possession, occupation or practice and propels the emergence of new cultural scripts that alter the rules of status signification. In their essay, the authors outline these dynamics and suggest directions for future research.
The published version of The democratization of the status game is available for download at City Research Online.
