Digital subcultures

This chapter explores digital subcultures through the concept of scalability. Fischer’s work in sociology has conceptualised subcultures in cities, suggesting that subcultures were made possible through a ‘critical mass’ – defined by the size and density of a population. Digital media extends subcultures into new territories. It shifts how we understand participation, scale, and how digital subcultures are (re)produced, complicating how we might interpret Fischer’s work today.

Scalability, as one affordance of digital media, refers to the capacity for media to spread content and reach different audiences and groups. We see scalability as a useful concept for theorising and researching digital subcultures because it attends to both the historical debates about subcultures as well as what is enabled and constrained by digital media (e.g. virality, algorithmic processes, commercial governance, and visibility).

In this chapter, we explore the ways people engage with digital media and participate in subcultures. We consider how subcultures are limited and made (im)possible through digital media (e.g. subcultures that are embedded within a platform, subcultural practices that extend across platforms and non-digital spaces). We consider if subculture as a conceptual tool is a productive way to understand digital participation and practices.