Below is a Notion-compatible, UPSC-ready analytical explanation of how new forms of status groups challenge and alter the old sociological understanding of status groups (Weberian + Indian context).

New Status Groups Are Changing the Old Notion of Status Group & Challenging Classical Sociological Understanding

1. Classical Understanding of Status Groups (Weber)

Traditionally, status groups were:

• Ascriptive → born into (caste, ethnicity, religion)
• Rigid → fixed membership
• Honor-based → ritual purity, tradition, lifestyle
• Closed → strict boundary maintenance
• Non-economic → separate from class position

Caste in India was the perfect example: fixed, birth-based, ritual, endogamous, community-controlled.

2. New Forms of Status Groups Do Not Fit This Classical Model

Modern status groups are based on:

• education
• occupation
• consumption
• lifestyle
• identity
• digital presence