[Air-l] viewing American class divisions through Facebook and MySpace

[Sam Ladner]

Through all this thread, I'm really surprised at the notions of class that
are being bandied about. With the exception of the reference to the
lumpenproletariat, I see a real dearth of class theory.

Yes, class is about relationship to the means of production (Marx). But it
is also about relationship to the ability to control the work of others
(Olin Wright). And it is also about the unspoken behaviors that reveal one's
social capital (Bourdieu).

I believe what this essay is really about is the intersection of the
material manifestation of class (habitus perhaps) and how that is
transformed in the virtual space. It is also about the "appropriate"
behavior of the respective "fronts" of Myspace and Facebook. I would apply
Goffman's dramaturgical approach to understanding why certain groups
gravitate to either place --  the "scripts" of each are distinct and have a
certain "digital habitus" that comply to respective classes (in Olin
Wright's sense of the term).

I think this is a process of unriddling and not so much describing the
"typical" FB or Myspace profile. This is why a qual study is the right
approach IMO. Though much of the news hits on this is about "study says FB
is richer" etc etc, which I find so annoying because Danah's research does
not establish that.

If I were to put on my "brand account planner" hat for a moment, I would say
the "brand molecule" of FB is much more attractive to White, educated,
members of the managerial class (or at least their children) because  its
front has scripts that  embrace hegemonic scripts. In the words of Bourdieu,
the users of Myspace "refuse what they were refused" when they diss on FB.