Conceptualizing Precarity and Class in the Digital Age: A Bourdieusian Analysis of Youtube Career Advice
This paper examines how digital transformation is shaping work orientations for remote and gig economy workers, with a focus on YouTube career advice channels tailored to this workforce.
Using a mixed-methods approach, the study begins with sentiment analysis to gauge the emotional tone of video titles and comments, classifying discussions of remote and gig work as positive, negative, or neutral. This provides an initial understanding of how these work models are framed. Building on these findings, the qualitative phase uses thematic coding to identify recurring narratives and capture more complex perceptions of work orientations. The qualitative analysis then explores the class-based dynamics of precarity, focusing on how career advice videos frame the experiences and challenges faced by remote and gig workers.
Grounded in Bourdieu’s concepts of habitus, field, and capital, the analysis explores how workers’ class positions shape their strategies for navigating digital labor markets, where flexibility and insecurity coexist. Workers’ habitus influences how they internalize consumer values—such as choice, flexibility, and autonomy—framing their labor as part of their personal lifestyle. Different forms of capital affect their ability to thrive in these precarious conditions, with the digital labor market functioning as a field where these forms of capital are deployed and contested.
Drawing on Srnicek’s theory of platform capitalism, the paper critiques how platforms like YouTube normalize precarious work. By aligning precarious work with ideals of personal fulfillment typically reserved for consumption, workers obscure the economic realities of platform labor. This research emphasizes how digital platforms shape perceptions of work and success while reinforcing social inequalities in a class-stratified labor market, highlighting tensions between digital labor and social inequality.