Discrimination based on social class is challenging to study, and therefore likely to be underappreciated due to its subtle nature. Social class is often difficult to gauge from traditional resumes, yet, the expansion of social networking platforms provides employers with an additional source of information. Given that many individuals have a social media presence today, employers can increasingly rely on additional information gleaned from such online platforms (e.g., Twitter, Instagram), which may alter hiring decisions. To study the role of social networking platforms vis-à-vis potential discrimination based on social class cues, I leverage an original online survey experiment in the United States. The aim of the investigation is (i) to measure the effect of cultural markers of social class expressed on social media profiles in a hypothetical hiring situation and (ii) to analyse potential channels that might explain class-based discrimination. I show that subjects favour the upper-class-signalling candidate over the lower-class-signalling candidate and that perceived competence and perceived warmth are two channels through which class-based discrimination may occur. The individual’s online presence might not be part of the formal application process, yet it seems to shape inferences about individuals’ employability, competence, and warmth.

中文翻译：

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社交媒体和招聘：基于在线社会阶层线索的歧视调查实验

基于社会阶层的歧视很难研究，因此由于其微妙的性质而可能被低估。传统简历通常很难衡量社会阶层，然而，社交网络平台的扩展为雇主提供了额外的信息来源。鉴于如今许多人都在使用社交媒体，雇主可以越来越多地依赖从此类在线平台（例如 Twitter、Instagram）收集的额外信息，这可能会改变招聘决定。为了研究社交网络平台相对于基于社会阶层线索的潜在歧视的作用，我利用了美国的一项原始在线调查实验。调查的目的是 (i) 衡量在假设的招聘情况下社交媒体资料上表达的社会阶层文化标记的影响，以及 (ii) 分析可能解释基于阶层的歧视的潜在渠道。我表明受试者更喜欢上层阶级的信号候选人而不是下层阶级的信号候选人，并且感知到的能力和感知到的温暖是可能发生基于阶级的歧视的两个渠道。个人的在线状态可能不是正式申请流程的一部分，但它似乎影响了对个人就业能力、能力和热情的推论。我表明受试者更喜欢上层阶级的信号候选人而不是下层阶级的信号候选人，并且感知到的能力和感知到的温暖是可能发生基于阶级的歧视的两个渠道。个人的在线状态可能不是正式申请流程的一部分，但它似乎影响了对个人就业能力、能力和热情的推论。我表明受试者更喜欢上层阶级的信号候选人而不是下层阶级的信号候选人，并且感知到的能力和感知到的温暖是可能发生基于阶级的歧视的两个渠道。个人的在线状态可能不是正式申请流程的一部分，但它似乎影响了对个人就业能力、能力和热情的推论。