Distributed digital capital: digital literacies and everyday media practices

Abstract

In this paper, we focus on young people's use of digital platforms, within the context of a ‘live’ digital media project. The study draws on Bourdieu's notion of social practices and explores unevenness in the possession of digital capital by young people. We use a live digital media project and draw on a (digital) participatory action research approach to explore the extent of distributed digital capital in evidence with a group of young people from dis-privileged backgrounds and their creative use of digital platforms to enact strategies to alter their future prospects. We conclude that for those young people emerging from a challenging habitus, support mechanisms are a crucial element in building a bank of digital capital tradable in other areas of their lives. Communities of practice can support those without privilege to compete on a more level playing field with their privileged counterparts by opening up access to educational cultural capital.