Degree

BS (Social Sciences & Liberal Arts)

Faculty / School

School of Economics and Social Sciences (SESS)

Department

Department of Social Sciences & Liberal Arts

Date of Award

Spring 2026

Date of Submission

2026-06-13

Advisor

Dr. Ismat Abbas, Assistant Professor SSLA - SESS

Committee

Ms. Hajra Rehman

Project Type

SSLA Culminating Experience

Access Type

Restricted Access

Keywords

cultural capital, social status, coffee café culture, conspicuous consumption, self-presentation, Youth culture, Karachi.

Abstract

Recently, there has been an unprecedented growth in coffee cafes across Karachi, with the number now exceeding 200. This figure is expected to grow even more in the coming years. The present study aims to explore how the participation of urban youth in Karachi within this coffee cafe culture serves as a display of cultural capital and social status. For this purpose, the study employed a qualitative research design comprising eight semi-structured interviews with university students aged 18-25, along with content analysis of four Instagram reels featuring popular cafes in Karachi. The theoretical framework of this study consisted of Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of cultural capital, Thorstein Veblen's theory of conspicuous consumption, and Erving Goffman's theory of self-presentation. The data were coded and analyzed using thematic analysis. The themes that emerged were the types of consumers, the symbolic meanings attached to coffee and cafés, the exclusionary nature of the culture, and performance and display. The findings revealed coffee cafes to be a stratified arena where social status is performed, displayed, and imitated through embodied and objectified cultural capital for audiences both real and virtual. The study also identifies trend-following, peer influence, and a desire for social belonging as primary motivations for participation in this culture.

Pages

69

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