Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
How does media influence identity
Importance of social control
Importance of social control
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: How does media influence identity
We as a human race have become a byproduct of our society. Through media, technology, and social pressure, humans no longer run society, but it seems like we are run by society. The quote from sociologist Peter Berger states “Not only do people live in society but society lives in them” This statement is referring to a form of social control were groups and the people in those groups conform to society partially knowingly and partially as a reflection based on dominant social expectations. As I further explain Berger’s statement I will explain how individuality, identity, and freedom fit in to such a predetermined future.
Though identity suggests to an aspect of individuality it is really a result of socialization. Identity is how we see ourselves and socialization is “the process through which people learn the expectations of society” (Anderson, 74). Identity therefor becomes a product of socialization. One person could develop multiple identities which are dependent upon what social situation they may be in. A person may identify themselves as one thing in their home environment but that identity could change once in a professional of educational environment. Identity is one aspect of an individual but is based off of learned expectations from society. As Berger’s statement suggests humans not only merely live in society, but society now lays the framework for how we are going to be. As much as we would like to see ourselves as totally independent, without our family, our peers, language, culture, and bigger institutions suggesting ways of living we would have no basis for constructing an identity.
Individuality is defined as the “total character peculiar to and distinguishing an individual from others,” (Britannica) meanin...
... middle of paper ...
...s.
Berger’s quote, “Not only do people live in society but society lives in them” is a poignant look at our society. Even though we created our society and we enjoy believing we are the rulers of it, ultimately society and the pressures of our peers have more impact on our lives and identities than we as individual do alone. The media and the continual development of technology shape and change what we buy, what we look like, and how we interact with one another and other societies. As long as there is a main stream society we will always have social controls and pressure to keep it moving smoothly.
Works Cited
Anderson, Margaret L. and Taylor, Howard F. Sociology: The essential. 6th ed. 2011. Print
“Individuality” Encyclopaedia Britannica. 2011. britannica.com. Web. 28 May. 2011.
“freedom” Encyclopaedia Britannica. 2011. britannica.com. Web. 28 May. 2011.
"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference." (Robert Frost) In today's world there is no tolerance for the individual thinker. It is not acceptable to modify or bend the rules of society. Society is civilized, and to be civilized there must be rules, regulations and policies that prevent. Individuality leads to a mess of chaos. To prevent disorder, institutions in society keep these rules strongly enforced. Man creates these institutions in order to provide convenience and stability in everyday life. Then instead of man running these institutions, the institutions begin to reverse the role of power and the institutions are running man. He is rendered helpless to what he has created. With the institution in power it has become smarter and stronger than man, working to destroy individuality with the invisible machine running smoothly. Positions of power and authority are given to some. The power changes those who it into an unfeeling, ruthless, cold machine. Also they become part of the institution, forgetting the real purpose of their jobs. Institutions force individuals to bend and mold the standard and give up freedom and individuality. Some individuals are unable to conform when their will to remain creative and self-reliant is too strong; they fight against the current that society and its institutions create. Beating the system is another thing; those who attempt to beat the system are often referred to as romantics because they do not focus on the reality of situations. The system cannot be beat. If one official of an intuition is taken down there will be a many more waiting i...
society is form people come into what ever they are doing with the most attitude
‘Society makes and remakes people, but society is also made and remade by the multiple connections and disconnections between people, and between people, places and things’ (Havard, 2014, p.67).
Although the concept of identity is recurrent in our daily lives, it has interpreted in various ways.
The idea that society, which is created by people, can in turn act upon people is a difficult concept for humans to grasp. Instead, it is easier for humans to realize that actions happen by forces external to themselves and...
Throughout SOCIO 211, Professor Sanderson has repeatedly stated that the things we do every day are not natural. Instead these things are constructed by society. He has repeatedly reminded us that we don’t “see” sociology or culture and that we need to “teach ourselves how to see again.” This has been the main take home point of this class for me. I’ve never realized how much I am shaped by my friends, family, teachers, and others around me. That being said, three sociological concepts have improved my understanding of my relationship with society: socialization, gender, and family. These three concepts have been the most important to me because they all are concepts I’ve related to my everyday life, that I am influenced by, and have been molded into. These concepts have made me realize that I cannot necessarily be whoever I want to be or do whatever I want to do. Because of these three main points, I understand my roles and expectations better in life. I have noticed that I act the way I do because I have been socially constructed to do so through socialization, expectations of gender and gender roles, and by how my family has influenced my view of society.
... and what society dictates. To begin understanding this complex problem is the key to individualism and breaking free from societies constraints.
...lay in societal change. However it was only until the works of Durkheim and Simmel that the role of individual interaction and society is brought to the forefront. Durkheim largely viewed the individual as needing society as a mechanism of constraint to the aspirations of an eternal goal. Finally, Simmel was able to expand on Durkheim’s dualism by noting that society could be viewed as more than a mechanism of constraint rather as an accumulation of individual interaction. Either through a combination or as individuals each theorist distinct view of the relationship between the individual and society demonstrates a new understanding towards the nature of social reality.
Individuality is the quality or character of a particular person or thing that distinguishes them from others of the same kind, especially when strongly marked. According
A famous philosopher named Aristotle once said, "He who is unable to live in a society, or who has no need because he is sufficient for himself, must be either a beast or a god" (Moncur ). Ever since the first humans, people have sought to live and grow where other people are. This organization of people living together as a community is called a society. For the members of it, society furnishes protection, continuity, security and identity. Without a society to be a part of, man is nothing. Therefore, if a man comes into conflict with his society, he must either accept these differences or be destroyed. This nightmare comes to life in Chinua Achebe's novel Things Fall Apart, when the main character, Okonkwo, clashes with his society's beliefs. The conflict that exists between Okonkwo and his society is what ultimately leads him to his downfall.
Identity, an ambiguous idea, plays an important part in today’s world. To me identity can be defined as who a person is or what differentiates one person from another. Identity would be a person’s name, age, height, ethnicity, personality, and more. A quote by Anne Sexton states “It doesn't matter who my father was; it matters who I remember he was”(Anne Sexton). This quote helps me define identity because I believe it is saying that identity is what people are remembered by. When some people think of identity, words such as, uniqueness, distinctiveness, or individuality may come to mind. However, I disagree with this because when I think of identity I think of mimicry, self-consciousness, or opinions.
Many philosophers and psychologist from Jean Piaget to William James have theorized what makes a person who they are, their identity. Jean Piaget believed that the identity is formed in the sensorimotor stage and the preoperational stage. This means that a child is forming his identity as late to the age of seven (Schellenberg, 29) However, identity is strongly impacted by society such as school, church, government,and other institutions. Through our interactions with different situations our personality develops (Schellenberg 34). "In most situations there is a more diversified opportunity for the development of social identities, reflecting what the individual wants to put forth to define the self as well as what others want to accept,"(Schellenberg 35). Therefore, humans, much like animals, adapt to different situations based on who they are with. Individuals are always changi...
Of course, one can never truly escape from the influence of society. A person is born and raised with the beliefs and customs of society, and it will always be a part of someone and will always influence how one thinks, how one reacts, how one speaks, and how one acts. But one may try to supress that immediate thought, the product of society’s influence, and think and react according to one’s new set of ideas.
Identity is a person’s socially and historically constructed concept. We learn and determine our own identity through the interactions of family, peers, media and also other connections that we have encounter in our life. Gender, social class, age and experience of the world are the key concepts which plays a substantial role in shaping how we are by facing obstacles in our lives. According to Mead (1934) as cited in Thulin, Miller, Secher, and Colson (2009), identity theory determines
Society is a result of our interactions, and society guides our interactions. This all stems from social construction. Social construction conveys values, ideas and traditions. These values, ideals and traditions are created and become traditions that are then passed on. These traditions then come to be perceived as natural rather than cultural, which is often how media will display it and society unknowingly accepts.