Socialization can occur in every environment. It can occur in the grocery store, in the mall, in our very own home, and even while sitting at a desk in front of a computer screen. According to Schaefer, the definition of socialization is, learning the “attitudes, values and behaviors appropriate for members of a particular culture” (Schaefer 80). He states that, “sociology occurs through human interaction” (Schaefer 80). When thinking in the terms of human interaction face to face contact comes straight to mind. When we interact with peers, family members, teachers, friends and so forth, we are socializing in ways that we do not even realize.
We are constantly being socialized; we are constantly being exposed to the norms and values of the society that we live in. In the two days in which I recorded my use of mass media, I realized that we are not only socialized by human interaction, but by the media by which we involve ourselves in as well. Whether we notice it or not, we are greatly affected by the many things that we surround ourselves with every day. In our society today, social networks have become a norm for many people.
Both young and old have become greatly consumed in networks such as facebook and twitter. Just because these social settings are through cyber space does not mean that socialization is not taking place. Through these websites we read the private and personal thoughts of our friends, family, co-workers and acquaintances and then we respond to them. Facebook interaction is something that I take part in quite often. As a matter of fact, while writing this paper, I have stopped at least three times to go on my facebook account. There are many aspects of social networks, such as facebook, that are helpful to us. Facebook enables us to keep in touch with friends and family that may live far away, gives us a chance to reconnect with old acquaintances and opens up more opportunities to express ourselves.
I, personally, believe that the most important aspect about facebook is that it can connect many different cultures and place them all right in front of us either to just observe, or to drink in. But many of us do not always take these different aspects into account. We participate in our different social networks for many reasons. I log into my facebook account because I am bored, to distract myself from doing something I would rather not do at the moment, to update my status, or to see what my friends have been up to. I may not go on facebook to “learn attitudes, needs, characteristics and behaviors appropriate for members of a particular society” (Schaefer 80), but whether that be the reason or not, it happens just the same.
The norms and values that we are exposed to when participating in social networks are not only that of our own society, but those of many others as well. In chapter 4 Schaefer talks a little bit about self, which is, a “distinct identity that sets us apart from others” and “emerges as we interact with others” and “continues to develop and change” (Schaefer 84). We are constantly developing and expressing our self and one of the ways in which we do this is through the social networks that we are a part of. Through a facebook status, group, or comment we express our beliefs, likes and dislikes; we express bits and pieces of our identity and we learn about the identity of others.
Social networks are defined in chapter 5 as, “a series of social relationships that links a person directly to others and through then indirectly to still more people” (Schaefer 114). Facebook is a social network; it is a source of social connection. The keyword in that definition is relationships. We form relationships, some more important or more meaningful than others, but all of them help to socialize us. Every relationship that we have will somehow impact our constantly changing self.
Works Cited
Schaefer, Richard T. Sociology: a Brief Introduction. 9th ed. NY: McGraw Hill, 2011. Print.
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