Question

Socialization is defined as the process by which the individual internalizes the norms, values and beliefs of their social world. The socialization process occurs throughout the life course of the individual and is influenced by agents of socialization, which include a variety of social institutions and daily social interactions.

Think about how you have been influenced by agents of socialization throughout your life. Consider how you have been molded and shaped through years of socialization.

In an essay, compare and contrast how agents of socialization impacted your life when you were a high school student and now as a college student. Be sure to define the term agents of socialization and identify the specific categories of agents of socialization in your response.

Answer 1

Socialization is a process which moves on throughout the life of an individual. It is the process in which an individual learn about the society and the expectations that the society builds in its people. Interaction with the people and to learn the etiquettes to talk, walk, table habits and the behavioral habits are a part of socialization. It is a process which continues throughout one’s life but the maximum of the process occurs during the period of childhood.
There are certain agents which influence the process of socialization in the life of an individual. The agents of socialization are family, schools, peers, and media.
A family is the most important agent of socialization as a family is an institution to which an infant is introduced for the very first time in its life. The members of the family introduce the child in understanding family relationships, the way to live life in groups, the advantages of living with family, and the benefits of sharing resources with each other. Family builds in the child the norms of the society and the beliefs related to religions. The thoughts related to social status, religion, beliefs, and costumes are all incorporated in a child by its family beliefs and thoughts. Each family has its own beliefs and thoughts which they impart to their upcoming generations. Hence, different children born in different family and culture respond to different issues in a different manner.

The experience of a child turns on to its new phase when he is admitted to the school. After the family and relatives, school comes next, which provide socialization to a child. The teacher plays an important role in forming an important purpose in a students’ life. Apart from imparting subject knowledge, a teacher molds a student’s way of thinking and acting in a different situation. Skills like learning, reading, writing and reciting are the primary purpose of going to school. Apart from these functions, the way to interact with the teachers, staff members, classmates, and schoolmates are also learned by a child simultaneously. Importance of authority, being punctual, completion of academic works on time, keeping silence and patience are also learned in school.
Peers come next to the school socialization. Peers are the children who are of the same age of the child. The classmates, friends and the cousins of the same age form the peer group. Making friends and socializing with them form a part the process of socialization. These processes help in making one’s own identity and way of introducing oneself before the peers. As every other child has been grown in different cultures and social environment, therefore the interactions with the peers bring in with different cultures and influences each other too.
Media plays an active role in modifying one’s social thoughts and perceptions. The visual, audio and the social media play an active role in the development of a child. The visual media like television, movies, and serials shows a reflection of the society. The songs, movies and the expressions that the actors create are often adopted by the children. They tend to copy the way the media shows to them.

There are certain ills that the socialization brings in with itself. The evils of the society like racial discrimination, prejudice, gender inequality, and biases also creep inside the thoughts of the growing child as per its influence from family, society and the surroundings. Some of the negative aspects like fights between the family members, lack of understandings, and lack of taking decisions also form its space within the process of socialization.