Open AccessGetting things done: Inequalities, Internet use and everyday life
Author(s) -
Adrián Leguina,
John Downey
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
new media and society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.501
H-Index - 109
eISSN - 1461-7315
pISSN - 1461-4448
DOI - 10.1177/14614448211015979
Subject(s) - everyday life , sociology , the internet , cultural capital , contingency , digital divide , social capital , field (mathematics) , capital (architecture) , habitus , inequality , social science , epistemology , computer science , political science , law , world wide web , geography , philosophy , mathematics , archaeology , pure mathematics , mathematical analysis
The study of mundane, everyday uses of the Internet remains an emerging field of inquiry. Analysing data from a large seven country survey of Internet use and adapting concepts and methods developed by Bourdieu, we show that there are distinct clusters of users who use the Internet in diverse ways to solve everyday problems, such as buying a mobile phone or diagnosing an illness. Such everyday problem-solving is dependent upon degrees of economic, social, digital and cultural capital, and varies across countries. A comparative methodological strategy combined the use of multiple correspondence analysis (MCA), hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA), and for the first time in the field, multiple factor analysis for contingency tables (MFACTs). Extending the work of Bourdieu and the sociology of class more generally, we argue that digital capital functions as a bridging capital aiding the convertibility of other forms of capital to the benefit of already advantaged groups.