Abstract
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.
Highlights
Given that a variety of technological devices, including mobile devices, and online communication have apparently become so important, not to say ubiquitous, at least in some people’s lives there has been relatively little research on the mundane use of the Internet in everyday life
The original contribution we make here is empirical, conceptual and methodological: we study strategies for information seeking and practical problem-solving across seven countries (China, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States); we do so via a relational and multidimensional approach to class inequalities and life conditions inspired by Bourdieu deploying the concept of digital capital as a bridging capital; we combine insights from two traditionally separate fields, namely, Internet uses in everyday contexts and strategies for information seeking and practical problem-solving
Our methodological strategy, inspired by Bourdieu and using recent methodological advancements in geometric data analysis, made this possible. This innovative method together with the uniqueness of the PIN data allows for a comparative, systematic exploration of on- and offline strategies and a combination of the two for everyday problem-solving strategies
Summary
Given that a variety of technological devices, including mobile devices, and online communication have apparently become so important, not to say ubiquitous, at least in some people’s lives there has been relatively little research on the mundane use of the Internet in everyday life. The original contribution we make here is empirical, conceptual and methodological: we study strategies for information seeking and practical problem-solving across seven countries (China, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States); we do so via a relational and multidimensional approach to class inequalities and life conditions inspired by Bourdieu deploying the concept of digital capital as a bridging capital; we combine insights from two traditionally separate fields, namely, Internet uses in everyday contexts and strategies for information seeking and practical problem-solving.
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