Human behavior has been known to continuously be influenced by genetic and external factors, our behavior is shaped by our values, attitudes and beliefs, norms, and culture of our environment Our behavior heavily relies on the everlasting process of Socialisation, in which individuals become a functioning members of society. It is a lifelong phenomenon that continues throughout every life cycle, from infancy to old age. Children learn about the norms, beliefs, and value systems from various socialization agents and learn to integrate themselves into society.
Role of Family
Family is one of the primary agents of socialization and can have a lifelong effect on a child’s behavior. Children learn about the norms and attitudes of their parents and observe how they perform in their culture. They are taught how to communicate and behave in a certain manner in different situational contexts. Various factors such as parenting style and structure of the family determine how children integrate themselves in their surroundings
Personality Development
The different agents of socialization help foster different environments to nurture and develop personality traits in children. Children exposed to diverse human experiences acquire the opportunity to shape their own unique identity. It’s a lifelong process where our identity and behavior are constantly shaped and influenced by various socialization agents. For example, children raised in a warzone, witnessing violence and loss may have a different perception of life than that of children raised in a privileged space.
The Impact of Social Media on Human Behaviour
Traditionally, parents used to expose and mentor children in different situational settings to teach the norms and customs of society, influencing their behavior throughout life, but in the modern age, social media have given children unmonitored access to different sources and socialization agents influencing their attitudes and belief systems. Even though it can provide an online space for people to connect with their peers, recent studies have shown the negative impact on adolescents’ behavior and personality by excessive use of social media and other online media consumption. Self –Self-centeredness, isolation, body image issues, the decrease in attention span; all these issues have been seen in Gen Z as a negative consequence of unmonitored access to the internet.
Workplace Socialization
Humans are a social species by nature, and some people are even introverted. This implies that in order to prevent feelings of alienation or loneliness, one needs friends and other social groupings. For example, seeing and interacting with coworkers is necessary to guarantee their overall well-being. The way that people engage with one another in business, from day to day, is further influenced by socialization. Socialization provides the workforce with the skills and cultural standards needed to live out their pop culture. It raises the level of motivation that workers exhibit. Employee socialization during their employment in a business gives them the opportunity to assess their level of actual knowledge regarding work habits, collaboration, and information exchange. Workplace socialization can be considered as a phenomenon experienced during the midlife cycle.
Cultural Integration
There is a complex interplay between culture and socialization in individuals. The agents of socialization play a crucial role in integrating children into the desired culture of society. Families, peers, religion, and media influence children to how they perceive and hold a specific attitude and beliefs towards diverse environmental settings. For context, people in Asian countries tend to hold collectivist and family-oriented values in their lives while children raised in the Westend to have a mindset close to individualism and autonomy. An important note to consider here is that the diversity in culture doesn’t reflect which culture tends to raise better people as functioning members of society.
Closure
Wrapping up, socialization can be understood as a crucial element in determining how individuals tend to form their personality and behavior by being influenced by various socializing agents and shaping a complex relationship between human behavior and our environment. To foster healthy and successful socialization in children, one must have an updated understanding on the negative and positive traits of socializing agents.
References+
- Fietz, P. (2008). Socialisation and the shaping of youth identity at Docker River. Contexts of Child Development: Culture, policy and intervention, Charles Darwin University Press, Darwin, 49-58.
- jackwestin.com/resources/mcat-content/formation-of-identity/influence-of-culture-and-socialization-on-identity-formation#:~:text=Socialization%20prepares%20people%20for%20social,given%20social%20group%20or%20society
- www.researchgate.net/publication/337707053_The_role_and_functions_of_social_media_in_socialization
- Paus-Hasebrink, I., Kulterer, J., Sinner, P., Paus-Hasebrink, I., Kulterer, J., & Sinner, P. (2019). The role of media within young people’s socialisation: A theoretical approach. Social Inequality, Childhood and the Media: A Longitudinal Study of the Mediatization of Socialisation, 45-75.
