Among the middle class youth of India I-Phone has become extremely popular as it reflects their social standing. Which concept can be best associated with this example?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Status Symbol
Option (1) Consumerism — Incorrect. Consumerism is the habit or culture of buying more and more goods, and the belief that buying brings happiness. It speaks of the amount of buying, while the question stresses that the phone is popular because it reflects the owner’s social standing; that link between a good and status has its own name.
Option (2) Status Symbol — Correct. Max Weber pointed out that the goods people buy and use are closely related to their status in society, and coined the term status symbol for this relationship. For example, among the middle class in India today, the brand of cell phone one owns is an important marker of socio-economic status. The I-Phone of the middle-class youth is just such a marker.
Option (3) Modernisation — Incorrect. Modernisation is a wide process in which local ties give way to universal outlooks, work is based on choice rather than birth and a scientific attitude gains ground. It describes a change in the whole society, not the meaning a particular good carries for its owner.
Option (4) Westernisation — Incorrect. Westernisation is the cultural change brought about by over 150 years of British rule, in technology, institutions, ideology and values. Owning a costly phone to show one’s standing is about status, not about adopting western ways.
Note: The concept in Option (1), ‘consumerism’, is not in NCERT (2025-26); it has been explained here for the benefit of the students.
NCERT (2025-26): “Commoditisation and Consumption … One of sociology’s founders, Max Weber, was among the first to point out that the goods that people buy and use are closely related to their status in society. He coined the term status symbol to describe this relationship. For example, among the middle class in India today, the brand of cell phone or the model of car that one owns are important markers of socio-economic status. Weber also wrote about how classes and status groups are differentiated on the basis of their lifestyles.” |