Social class is a large set of people with common living standards, values, interests, education. There are three common class models: upper class, middle class, and lower class. According to Ian C.Jarvie (1972), class pervaded and influenced the social organization.
Paul Fussell (1983) stated that although most Americans sensed that they lived within extremely complicated system of social classes and suspected that much of what was thought and done here was prompted by considerations of status, the subject had remained murkly.
To identify social class in which one lives, it is necessary to estimate one’s condition. I will try to do it in my example. I am studying at college. My father is a doctor, mother is teacher. My brother is a dentist. All these professions belong to middle social class. There are upper middle and lower middle classes. Upper middle class includes mostly white-collar professions with graduate degree. Usually these people earn 100,000 dollars a year, sometimes less. High level of education is the hallmark of a subclass, although many entrepreneurs and business owners do not have higher education.
Person can move from one social group to another. This movement is called class mobility. It can be downward and upward. Class mobility is important social concept. Citizens believe that person has many opportunities to climb the social class ladder. As for, such movement is possible in my future. Finding a job plays a great role in social mobility. It is also depends on wealth, culture and family history. I am not expecting to move up to upper class, which includes the richest people. But I do not want to move down.
Mass-media plays important in social mobility and definition of class society too. It creates and reflects culture. Mass-media’s messages can promote attitudes, moods and a sense of importance. For example, few years ago politicians and businessmen were only representatives of upper class, but now singers and actors become stars thanks to mass-media sources.