As Hirsch has argued, (1996 p: 81) whereas historically only those considered to be members of the elite could participate in consumption as a mirror of their position in society, today this use of the symbolic becomes less restricted to the upper classes as the mass population are now also able to obtain these goods. .
Basically then, as our obsession with commodities grows, as more things become commodified, and as these commodities become more widely available, specific signifiers of taste become less obvious. Therefore other forms of distinction, such as taste, become increasingly significant. Commodities are, as Bourdieu asserts, as symbolic as they are economic and political. We can use current television programmes as an example to demonstrate this. Home improvement programmes such as Changing Rooms enjoy immense popularity, but even within this genre distinctions emerge. On the one hand we have DIY SOS - showing us how to overcome basic DIY problems to improve our house, and on the other hand there is Location, Location that helps people find an entirely new home, invariably a more expensive, ambitious one. Therefore DIY SOS would be classified as of a slightly lower standard than Location, Location - as being somewhat less tasteful. These two programmes are both of the same home improvement format, but exemplify the different levels within it. .
As well as television, other consumer goods are used to indicate taste and not only do these demonstrate how symbolic commodities have become, when we adapt Bourdieu's theory to contemporary society we can also see how important the subtle differences have become and in turn how much "sharper" they are. For example, if we look at music in terms of distinction we can see that taste is no longer as clear-cut as it once was. Whereas once if someone were to say they were a mod, the assumption would be that they are therefore not a rocker.