Cosmopolitanism in the digital age: cultural capital and digital contestation in the Mexican context

Purpose This study examines consumer cosmopolitanism as a socially enacted performance to explore how privileged Mexican consumers, commonly referred to as whitexicans, perform cosmopolitanism as cultural capital and how these performances are contested within the digital community Cosas de Whitexicans. Design/methodology/approach A non-participatory netnography was conducted on 184 selected posts and approximately 2,200 comments from the Facebook community Cosas de Whitexicans (July 2023–June 2025). The data were analyzed using thematic analysis based on cultural capital and symbolic boundary frameworks. Findings The findings identify two interrelated dimensions structuring cosmopolitan consumption in digital contexts: the level of cultural capital mobilization (surface-level and immersive cosmopolitanism) and the intensity of symbolic boundary contestation (mocking and criticizing). These dynamics demonstrate that cosmopolitanism serves as both a resource for distinction and a contested identity within digitally mediated fields. Originality/value The study advances international marketing research by repositioning consumer cosmopolitanism as a relational and performative phenomenon embedded in cultural capital. By integrating symbolic boundary theory and digital mediation, it shows how claims to cosmopolitan status are publicly evaluated and challenged in emerging-market contexts marked by historical inequalities.