Between engagement and disengagement in contemporary global culture. Types of cultural consumers among youth in Adriatic Croatia

Abstract

ABSTRACT Using data from a large survey (N = 2736) of high school students in six major cities of Adriatic Croatia, this paper examines the relationship between cultural consumption, values and parental cultural capital. In order to identify the main dimensions that structure the space of cultural practices and taste, multiple correspondence analysis was employed. We find that this space is primarily structured by a dimension differentiating between engagement and disengagement in contemporary global culture, while the second dimension describes a relation towards popular and traditional culture. By superimposing supplementary variables on this map, we show that both dimensions are strongly associated with parental cultural capital and students’ value orientations. Using hierarchical cluster analysis, five specific clusters of cultural consumers were identified: Folk Univors, Neo-Traditionalists, Eclectic Consumers, Modern Omnivores and Elite Alternatives. The obtained results point not only to the intergenerational transmission of taste, but also to new forms of distinction among Croatian youth.