Structural Functionalism Vs Symbolic Interactionism

There are two kinds of people in the world when analyzing a problem; one kind that search for details to break the problem down and the other that view the subject as a whole. Each type of method works in today’s world on many disciplines. In the field of sociology, symbolic interactionism and structural functionalism are two of the main theories to apply as sociologists are analyzing social problems. The two perspectives are quite different on the usual level of analysis; Symbolic interactionism examines small patterns of social interactions while structural functionalism examines large-scale patterns of society. An analogic thinking can be applied to the two theories whereas symbolic interactionism is like looking subjects through microscope

Subject is broke down to smaller parts and showed in great details. I still remember the first time I was introduced to a microscope on science class; the drop of water under the lens became completely unfamiliar since all I saw was colorful free-floating plankton. It’s fascinating because the water seemed transparent through my naked eyes. Later I learned how the microscope enables people to see things in a whole new level of perspective. Symbolic interactionism works the similar way as a microscope of the society since it is micro sociological. The theory studies the symbols of everything within the society. In the perspective of symbolic interactionism, symbols tell people how they are related to others and know they should act towards them. At the micro level of face to face interaction, symbolic interactionists study how people use symbols to create social life. The theory studies every subject’s meaning within the society in order to examine how one certain subject is related to a social problem. One of the key aspects of symbolic interactionism is that a single thing does not exist objectively unless it interacts within the society. People's understanding of things’ meanings can change due to the process of social interaction. Overall, symbolic interactionism is everything about analyzing how social life depends on the way we define ourselves and others and looking at smaller parts of the big picture. This concept is much like seeing the society through the lens of a