Purpose This study aims to explore how, when interacting with social media influencers, preadolescents accrue symbolic capital and enact symbolic power through modified and new consumption competences, indicating a new element in habitus formation during primary socialisation. Design/methodology/approach The data consists of non-participatory observations in Brazilian private, secular schools, including social media information on preteens’ public profiles and favourite influencers; in-depth interviews with eight preadolescents; and 25 in-depth interviews with mothers, educators and psychologists. Data transcripts were inductively analysed and interpreted using a Bourdieusian framework. Findings Our data reveals that the engagement with influencers’ displays of consumerism, relatability, intimacy, identity politics and fragmented niche content, intersected with frail parental control, affects how preteens access the higher echelons of their school’s social hierarchy. It creates the need to acquire and enact new consumption competences, namely combining-freely, calibrating-style, craftly-curating and creatively-voicing. These new competences highlight the impact of social media on habitus formation, also altering forms of symbolic capital and exercises of symbolic power. Originality/value This paper extends the past literature on preadolescents’ socialisation and consumption. Firstly, this paper demonstrates how engagement with social media influencers’ content impacts habitus formation during primary socialisation. Next, this paper demonstrates how this engagement produces new forms of symbolic capital accrual and the exercise of symbolic power in the school field. This paper concludes with insights for policymakers on enhancing preteens’ well-being.
Dallolio et al. (Wed,) studied this question.