Agent of socialization

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An individual as an agent of socialization

The agents of socialization within a society are many with people, family and media being the major ones. As one develops, there are a number of norms and values that are considered a part of social control and there are limits put in place to consider the acceptable and the behavior that is not accepted within the society. There are values learnt from parents at a tender age and are later on passed to the generations to come. The social skills obtained directly within the family influences the manner an individual will view the society (Chinapoo et al, unit 2).

During my interview, the individual I interviewed had a mixed view of life having lived in different societies. He believed that there was need for people to be open to new trends in the world and take up various roles such as modeling and participating in fashion in view of the unemployment crisis around the world. “People should use their God-given gifts to make a living!!” He affirmed. This made me view his argument as deviance towards the social morals in view of my upbringing. Showing a particular part of your body so as to attract attention is highly immoral based on my socialization.

The interviewee held that people should not be afraid to be deviant given that sitting at a comfort zone will lead one to being less aggressive in quest of success in life. He pointed out to the manner one would rake from taking part in an advertisement and the manner the same advertisement has made a lot of people buy a particular product.

It made me wonder how one would directly go against their culture in a bid to have a better status and go with the current trends in the world. A number of people chose to follow the trends in the current world and are still observing certain norms within the society. The interviewee pointed out that the social media currently is a major trend setter given the number of social places such as shopping malls that it promotes and the lifestyle therein. He however pointed out that it is out of individual conscience that one chooses the one that suits them so long as they comply with the social values, ideologies and beliefs within the society (Chinapoo et al, unit 2).

My view on the social media trends changed given that everyone around me was rooted to it and embraced the trend as the in-thing. True to the interviewee’s word, I believe that the social media trend is the way to go in order to gain a sense of belonging among my peers. In view of group conformity, the use of social media platforms and the continuous development of phones that are internet enabled with a number of applications, I sure have to get one so as to embrace the same. However the sites that I should access should not compromise my social values (Chinapoo et al, unit 2).

In conclusion, from the interview, despite an individual being born and brought up while observing certain norms within the society, at some point in their life they will have to go out of their way in order to embrace other practices within the society even though it may be considered deviant. The need for getting a sense of belonging makes an individual feel the need for taking part in certain activities.

Works Cited

Carlton Chinapoo, Norma James, Maureen Lee-Paisley. CAPE Sociology. Chicago: Hodder Education Group, 2014.