Abstract The term ‘chav’ has become a popular term among youths in recent years. Therefore, the present study aimed to explore how the term ‘chav’ is constructed in social media, using a content analysis and discursive psychology. Current research has either used interviews or simply discussed the term ‘chav’. From the literature, the main themes which arose surrounding the term ‘chav’ were social class, consumption practices, the media and whether the term ‘chav’ is a subcultural identity. 161 YouTube videos were collected and placed into categories via a content analysis. Clips were listened to and transcribed using Jefferson transcription. Transcripts were analysed by both the content analysis and discursive psychology. The content analysis revealed the content of the video clips which included stereotypical characteristics and behaviours of ‘chavs’. However, from both parts of analysis, we found that the main way in which the term ‘chav’ was constructed was through labelling. The discursive part of analysis allowed a more in depth look into how the term ‘chav’ is constructed. The media played a much larger part in constructions of the term ‘chav’, than expected. There were also several cases in which blame was apportioned to the media, the middle classes, and chavs themselves. We believe that using social media and discursive psychology was the best way to tackle the issue, and we think that this combination could easily be used to study category membership in the future.