CULTURAL STRATIFICATION IN TERMS OF SOCIOLOGY OF TASTE: THE NEW MIDDLE CLASS AND THE NEW MEDIA

Abstract

The aim of this article is to analyze the notion of new middle class and the ways its cultural preferences are represented and consumed on new media within the framework of sociology of taste. The article builds on different theoretical bases including studies on social class, cultural stratification and communication models. The study uses the findings of a fieldwork study conducted in Istanbul between September and November 2013 with fifteen young adults in order to discover the impact of new communication technologies on cultural preferences. The article thus questions the possibility of a new middle class culture and analyzes the uses and representations of cultural products that turned into a message throughout new media. The results highlighted the efficient role of the new communication technologies and social media on the determination of cultural preferences of the new middle class, and pointed out the substitution of cultural pieces and performances by images and messages. In addition, the discussions include the flexibility among different taste publics and the transformation of cultural capital as a component of social stratification.