As humans, are we allowed to determine our own individuality? If we are, how much of an impact can we make on our own originality? The answer to the first question is yes, however, the answer to the second question is one that has changed over the years due to the advancements of our world. Identity is, in a sense, “an unfolding story…continually recast in the course of experience” (Sennett 175-176). In other words, a person develops their identity through experiences they have in their lifetimes, usually while growing. Nowadays, people have more choice over who they become than they have had in the past. Some examples of this “control” are due to advancements in science and technology, curriculum in education, culture, and what is shown in the media. Because of (but not limited to) these factors, a person has more control but also more influence on the development of their own identity.
Advancements to science and technology marks one way people are able to change the way they identify themselves. With these advancements, very little about a person’s figure is set in stone. Aspects such as how tall a person is, how much they weigh, and how they look can be easily changed. For example, if someone doesn’t like the way they look, they can go pay a surgeon to morph their bodies into a figure they desire. Nowadays, people can even alter the genders that they associate themselves with, to a certain extent. Since 1997, there has been a 279% increase in the total number of cosmetic procedures performed (“American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery”).
The curriculum taught in schools has a huge effect on a developing person’s identity. Through schooling we tend to call into question the things that we believed to be true as children....
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...h/where you grew up. There are personal views affected by culture, such as views on relationships. For example, some people believe in arranged marriages and look down on casual relationships while these laid back relationships are considered normal for someone else. It is believed that the effect culture has is dependent on the “magnitude of the parent’s cultural identification” (Shim 92-27).
There are countless factors that influence the way people personify themselves. In the end, the forming of one’s identity is dependent on a person themselves. Things such as media, culture, and education definitely have a part in determining identity, but it is important for people to determine their own uniqueness by not conforming to everything they may see or hear from these influences. The way people decide to forge their own personalities directly affects their futures.
What the texts suggest about the relationship between how an individual sees themselves vs how the individual is seen by others, is through the concept of identity. An individual’s identity is shaped by many factors: life experiences, memories, personality, talents, relationships and many more.
What influences a person’s identity? Does one get an identity when they are able to differentiate right from wrong, or are they born with it? There is not one thing that gives a person their identity, there are however, many different factors that contribute to one’s identity. From Contemplation in a World of Action written by Thomas Merton, Merton advocates identity by stating that “A person does not simply “receive” his or her identity. Identity is much more than the name or features one is born with. True identity is something people must create for themselves by making choices that are significant and that require a courageous commitment in the face of challenges. Identity means having ideas and values that one lives by” (Merton). Concurring with Merton a person is not given their identity at birth or while developing as an embryo, rather it is something that you create for yourselves over the course of life through decisions and actions made by the individual. Although identity is something that one may not be fully aware of or discover until last breaths. Identity can
Before beginning the explanation of how an identity is formed, one must understand what an identity is. So, what is identity? To answer this, one might think of what gives him individuality; what makes him unique; what makes up his personality. Identity is who one is. Identity is a factor that tells what one wants out of life and how he is set to get it. It tells what kind of a person one is by the attitude and persona he has. And it depends upon the mixture of all parts of one’s life including personal choices and cultural and societal influences, but personal choices affect the identity of one more than the others.
At birth, every person is given a name, a birth certificate and a social security number. However, labels and documents do not identify who one is or who he will be. Family, environment, and circumstances shape an individual. At any one point in time, an individual may have one identity but at another given point, they may have another. What causes one’s identity to change? At birth, identity begins to form, shaping an individual; and while personal choice slightly influences a person’s identity, environmental factors weigh most heavily in molding a person’s permanent identity.
Culture sometimes informs the way one views the others and the world in our everyday lives. Some say your culture shapes you as who you are but others say that it’s the experiences you’ve had. Whenever I hear the question “To what extent does one’s Culture inform the way one views others and the world?” I think of two different things. I think of the differences between people, an example being people who have homes and the homeless. They have different point of views because they are in drastically different situations. So I do agree with it may have to deal with experiences, but then I also think about racism and racial judgement, etc. Thats where the Culture comes into play and then with that information I stand in the middle. Its both,
In this paper I will present the numerous theories built around the process of establishing one’s identity and provide examples of how this identity shapes a students involvement and actions while in school. I will also reflect on the importance for systems that foster identity formation that is equal for both inner-city and suburban children. It is crucial to the success of America’s schools to understand that a mixture of cultures creates a mixture of identi...
You are as others see you, yet others do not always see you as you are. With the importance others play on the sense of identity, it's no wonder that peers influence the minds of individuals early on in life. As young toddlers, children do not recognize biological
Identity The identity of people can be influenced by appearance, faith, and race. Who a person is can change due to numerous factors in his or her life. People often play an important role in influencing the identity of a person. Although one can not change the color of their skin or who they were born to, one does not have to let that define oneself or identify who one is.
In today's world, society creates an impact on human life. More of an impact can be seen among family and peers. They can be found at home, work, and school. At home with family, identity can be created on the difference of having one parent, divorced or separated parents, no parents, abusive parents, or even negligent parents. For example, children who grow up without a father or mother figure tend to become more independent at an early stage. Another example is where certain experiences within the family such as constantly witnessing parents argue can cause one's identity to be confined and distant. But, some people shape their identity similar to their parents. Such as a son became a soldier in the army because his father was in the army. Siblings, if any, are also an influence on the social identity of a person. They either become your friend, mentor, or you...
Culture, where and how a person is raised, affects a person no matter how much they dislike the way they are being taught the ways of life. However, moving to different places as a child and coun...
A person’s identity is shaped by many different aspects. Family, culture, friends, personal interests and surrounding environments are all factors that tend to help shape a person’s identity. Some factors may have more of an influence than others and some may not have any influence at all. As a person grows up in a family, they are influenced by many aspects of their life. Family and culture may influence a person’s sense of responsibilities, ethics and morals, tastes in music, humor and sports, and many other aspects of life. Friends and surrounding environments may influence a person’s taste in clothing, music, speech, and social activities. Personal interests are what truly set individuals apart. An individual is not a puppet on the string of their puppet-master, nor a chess piece on their master’s game board, individuals choose their own paths in life. They accomplish, or strive to accomplish, goals that they have set for themselves throughout their lifetime. Individuals are different from any other individual in the world because they live their own life rather than following a crowd of puppets. A person’s identity is defined by what shaped it in the first place, why they chose to be who they are, and what makes them different from everybody else in the world. I feel that I have developed most of my identity from my own dreams, fantasies, friends, and idols.
...e craft ourselves from what the society can afford to give up. We cannot simply believe that we live the same life as we did when we were younger or that we lived our lives as nature attended it to be. The developments the society influences craft our lives every day. Therefore, our identity is influenced by nurture; nurture is the ultimate cause of identity.
Humanity is defined by one major factor: one’s understating of the self. By understanding one’s self, one can understand society and the world that surrounds themselves. There is one thing that can often distort one’s personality, one’s identity. By identifying as one thing a person can often change how they act or do certain things. This is often found to hide one’s true motives or intention, but it can also be used to hide hidden factors that aren’t as prevalent. One’s personality and identity are very closely linked, and tend to play off one another. This fact can be show in within multiple works. To name a few authors who demonstrate this fact: Clifford Geertz, Horace Miner, and Andrei Toom. Their works seek to dive deeper
I think that someone’s identity is formed as a little kid and as a result, it is shaped based on the environment they grow up as. What I mean when I say environment is things like: Their living situation, how many opportunities there are available, the involvement of the parents and many more things. I also think one’s parents and the values and lessons they teach also molds identity. In my Ed Cafe project, we
Social Scientists say that the average American watches too much television and plays too many video games. I would agree with this, because in high school that is all I did, but not so much for me anymore. Back when I was in high school that is all I did. Watch television, play Nintendo, hang out with my friends. However, now that I am in college, I have had to change my ways. It helps a lot that I don't have either one of those in my dorms.