Platform-Mediated Capital Inversion: Extending Bourdieu^s Theory of Capital in Platform Society
Nila Kusuma Windrati, Irsanti Widuri Asih

Universitas Terbuka

Abstract

Content creators who present ordinary, working-class lives-often blended with local or traditional cultural markers-have become a common presence on Indonesian social media. Yet while research on platform micro-celebrities has grown substantially, it has mostly examined how influencers perform curated authenticity from an already privileged position, or how marginalized creators struggle against algorithmic invisibility. Less attention has been paid to how such creators actively convert the absence of economic and cultural capital into symbolic capital through platform-mediated communication, particularly in Global South contexts. This article addresses that gap by examining two Indonesian Instagram creators, @sibliwira from Bali and @oratoto_id from Klaten, Central Java, to understand how their everyday communicative performances turn ordinary, working-class identities into symbolic authenticity, digital social capital, and eventually economic value. Drawing on Bourdieu^s theory of capital and Turner^s idea of the demotic turn, we propose the concept of platform-mediated capital inversion: a process where the lack of conventional economic and cultural capital is reframed as symbolic authenticity, gains validation through audience engagement, and is then converted into economic value via platform visibility and brand partnerships. Using multimodal discourse analysis of their Instagram content, we examine how their communication style, self-presentation, and place-based identity help them gain audience recognition and visibility. The findings suggest that symbolic capital does not always come from accumulated economic or cultural capital, as Bourdieu^s theory usually assumes-it can also emerge from material scarcity itself, through carefully performed communication. By naming this process platform-mediated capital inversion, the article extends Bourdieu^s framework to a Global South context and contributes to how we understand strategic communication, digital social capital, and visibility in today^s platform society.

Keywords: Platform-mediated, Capital Inversion, Bourdieu^s Theory of Capital, Platform Society

Topic: Strategic Communication in the Digital Sphere: Cultivating Civic Trust through Data-Driven Approaches (Digital Communication- Public Communication Strategy- Civic Trust)