Sources of Socialization
Each and every day we receive information from our society about our society. This information, or culture comes from many different sources. We are taught, or socialized, to be members of our society by our family, in school, by our peer group and mass media. These four groups are known as agents of socialization. By it's very nature society adapts and changes and so does the structure of and the influence of the four agents. Of the four agents, mass media has been the fastest changing and has grown most in its influence. We are, after all, living in the information age. At any given moment, we can access information on over 400 cable channels, newspapers and magazines by the dozens and millions of printed pages on the Internet. At no other time in the history of man have we had as many sources of information. This does bring up one very interesting question: Are the mass media sources providing accurate, unbiased information? Or is it possible that some of these purveyors of information are hyping up or perhaps even inventing their messages?
One of the most entertaining sources of "information" is the evening news. Of course, the actual news program is only half the entertainment. The other part of the "show" is the various teasers that serve as the advertisements for the "main event". Syndicated columnist Dave Berry reported in one of his Sunday columns the best example of these teasers: "Brassieres of death… news at 6:00pm." Teasers are those snippets of information that start with phrases like "Are Your children drinking contaminated milk at school," "Watch our report tonight: Your health may depend on it", or "our special report could save you thousands'. If the stories are so import...
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...'s said and done we haven't told you a thing
We all know that Crap is King
Give us dirty laundry!"
"You don't really need to find out what's going on
You don't really want to know just how far it's gone
Just leave well enough love
Eat your dirty laundry"
The real problem with the news media is that there are people who believe that the news shows portray reality. A growing part of our society depends on the television for most if not all of their knowledge. It is this segment of society that can be most easily manipulated. Every person who stored up five hundred gallons of water for Y2k when asked why will answer "the news said to." It is blind adherence to apparent authority that will allow those in power to gain more and more control. I say fight back: Read A Book! Shape your mind and in the process create a more informed and enlightened society!
In The Influencing Machine, Gladstone argues that the media focuses on putting out news that remotely threatens viewers. In the text she states, “emphasizing bad news is good business…world [seems] more dangerous…actually is.” It is good business considering that it keeps the audience on their toes and makes them think about what is going on. When you visit news sites or look at news stations
The media is the main source of information for America today. Tocqueville would call the media the "intellectual authority"(Tocqueville 13) in America. "Everybody there adopts great numbers of theories, on philosophy, morals, and politics, without inquiry"(Tocqueville 11) These forms of media, newspapers, television and radio to name a few are filled with opinions and ideas that people just accept. Many of the leading media corporations are run by a handful of people. This means that the ideas and opinions that the masses are accepting are those ideas and opinions of a certain few people, a minority.
Media platforms like television and radio primarily spread propaganda created by the government. Citizens spend a lot of time watching television or listening to the radio and it’s a big part of their life. Almost everyone in the city owns a television or radio and believes things they see and hear from them. Montag escapes the police, but the T.V. chase is still playing out because they don’t want people to know that they let a fugitive get away. They found an innocent man on the street, labeled him as Montag, then killed him on the broadcast. “‘They’re faking. You threw them off at the river. They can’t admit it. They know they can hold their audience only so long. The show’s got to have a snap ending, quick!’... ‘The innocent man stood bewildered’… ‘The victim was seized by Hound and camera in a great spidering, clenching grip’” -Granger (Bradsbury 142). Media propaganda is so powerful today because everyone is susceptible to it. The press (newspapers, magazines, and T.V.) uses their tactics to shape people’s opinions. According to Johnnie Manzaria, the press is important because the most current news and info is spread through them everyday. People can believe anything the media says, because they have a popular opinion or reputation. Even if they spread propaganda, some people will inevitably believe it because “the news said so”, and is a very influential resource ("Media's Use of Propaganda to Persuade
News is all around us and is readily available to everyone. There are many flaws in the system that hurts the authenticity of the news when you see it. The media is indirectly part of the political system. Most news is either considered liberal or conservative by many.
”All newspapers had small circulations and most were financed by political groups as a means to express particular opinions and criticize their opponents”(Braunwarth Chp10.2.1). While modern day the availability of news is limitless, having un biased and accurate information is limited. “In the early twentieth century many newspapers….The so-called “muckrakers” dug up stories about government corruption, which was at an all-time high in the United States. In their zeal to expose, newspapers often published stories based on faulty information”(Braunwarth Chp10.2.5). False news accompanied by slander is still a problem in modern times and the control is in the hands of political parties. The control over the media and current utilization causes harm to a democratic country, the citizens are shown false information not to educate them but rather, persuade them to vote in favor of the medias benefactor by only showing points they want observed. “the media do not so much influence what people think as what they think about.” By gatekeeping and framing, the media help determine which policies the public thinks are important” (Braunwarth Chp10.7.3). The public has an option on where they become educated to vote but many of those resources are all owned by four
Newspapers and nightly news shows have become a business. They no longer go by the public services values they once stood by (Sensationalism, 2005). Instead of being the fourth branch of government, they are just like any other money making business. It is no longer a race to put out the truth; it is more a race for dollars and control. Sensationalism is purely fueled by money and popularity. If a news outlet garners a large amount of popularity, they can swing votes, and influence voters. Sensationalism has already affected many political situations. Sensationalism has proven to spread like a virus. If sensationalism is not controlled, there is no way the news outlets can be the advocate for the people.
The process of political socialization is not merely a quick development of ideologies, but an extended network of agents influencing us at every stage of our lives to implore us of good and proper behaviors and thought patterns to abide by. As stated in Texas politics, there is a difference in general socialization and political socialization, but both are significantly influential in our critical development patterns (3.1). General socialization begins in childhood with parents, grandparents, or caretakers. Simple verbal and nonverbal interactions taking place between those closest to us and our world around us creates ideas and beliefs and coaches us in how we should react to our environment. General socialization can be seen when children are punished for being inappropriate or impolite, or when their behaviors are reinforced by authority figures around them.
This essay will discuss what is socialisation, and explain two agents of socialisation, which is primary socialisation and secondary socialisation and what the positives and negatives about the socialisations are and analyse. To start off what is socialisation, socialisation is where the process of learning of the culture of any society. (Browne 2006) which means that when you are born you are learning and learn your culture of living, language, beliefs, norms and values, defying what sex you are means you learn differently to each other you both are equal but have different norms and values of being a girl or a boy. This gets passed through generation to generation. Socialisation has a big part of defining who we are and what we do in our life, and help form our personalities. (Browne 2006) as we can define ourselves by where we live, sexuality, religion, gender, a student or mother/father. This helps us form an individual identity that we tell people, this can be helped from family, friends, school, work, the mass media. So primary socialisation will include being taught norms and values from early child hood years which is assisted by agents like the family or people that are close to you. Secondary socialisation is where you get taught your norms and values from agents like
I knew they were brief, but I didn't know just how brief they were. The story lengths ranged from 20 seconds to three-and-a-half minutes. Watching the newscast from a critical perspective made me more aware of the role local television news programs play in our lives. I now see that they give people a brief overview of the day's events on the national and local scene. Because people in today's society have many demands on their time – work, family, school, leisure pursuits – they need to get their news quickly.
Socialization is defined as the “process of through which an individual learns to become a member of society (LaViolette & Barnett 2000).” The learning process can be from observations of others’ behavior and one’s cognitive thoughts (LaViolette & Barnett 2000). Even before the time we are born, gender plays a role. What the baby will be named and what sex the parents would prefer. For example, the parents decorate the nursery. Blue if the baby is a boy and pink if the baby is a girl. Also, females are considered “second sex” (Matlin, 2008). Most couples want their first born to be male. Also, females are often represented as being inferior to males.
The cycle of socialization is a process through which social identities are created, and in effect, each individual represents and is affected by their social identity. According to the cycle of socialization, the first stop in the socialization process is outside of one’s control—one is socialized even before they are born. Our social identities are predetermined, and we are born in a world with roles, rules, and assumptions already in place. Our family and role models teach these rules and roles to us, for they are the shapers of expectations, values, and norms. The first step in the cycle of socialization is directly related to mental models. In the beginning of the socialization process, we are taught certain rules and roles to follow. Ultimately, we are taught how to act by our families who raise us, which shapes our mental models. At a young age, my mom dressed me in dresses and put me in dance classes. My girl friends and I were all expected to take dance lessons and to enjoy playing house with each other. My dad taught my brothers when they were young to act tough and to play sports like football and hockey. During my childhood, I never questioned my parents. I enjoyed doing what “girls are supposed to do,” and I felt comfortable doing what all the other girls were doing in my school. I agree that parents are responsible for socializing their children and they have a huge influence on how we act our gender and our social roles. As a result, our mental models, which shape how we act, are created and enforced at a young age. Socialization is reinforced throughout our lifetime not only through our parents and teachers, but also through the messages from institutions and our culture.
An agent of socialization is something that affects you and thus society as a whole. There are many different agents of socialization. The four most important agents of socialization are family, school, peer groups, and mass media. These agents of socialization influence almost everything and every aspect of one’s life. From how you think to what kind of music you like.
In our democratic society, mass media is the driving force of public opinion. Media sources such as Internet, newspaper, news-broadcasts, etc, play significant roles in shaping a person’s understanding and perception about the events occurred in our daily lives. But how much influence does the mass media poses on our opinion? Guaranteed by the First Amendment in American Constitution, the media will always be there to inform us about the different events or issues they feel are important for the public. The media constantly bombards us with news, advertisements, etc, wher...
The Media as an Agent in Socialization According to the reading, “Socialization and Culture” from the book “Interdisciplinary English” by Loretta F. Kasper, socialization is the process in which a child learns how to behave in life and participate in a group in society. Socialization has four basic agents: family, school, peers and the mass media. Each one of these agents plays a role in our lives. However, in my opinion, the most important agent of socialization for the development of the child is the mass media.
Socialization is the process of passing down norms, customs, and ideologies that are important to the society by the previous generations to the younger generations. The school system is a social agency that was created to enhance the processes of socialization through education. The importance of school as an agent of socialization can be best explained by the amount of time students spend in school and in activities happen around school. The manifest functions of school are to educate students the social norms, and the knowledge and skills that help them become economically productive in order to benefit the society. But students not only learn from the academic curriculum but they also benefit from socialize with their teachers and peers.