Socialization and Cultural Change
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Socialization and Cultural Change
Introduction
Socialization attempts to maintain a status quo by encouraging individuals to stick to certain principles and standards of behavior. External factors such as globalization and interaction with other societies create a cultural change (Ozer et al., 2017). Despite efforts to make people adhere to certain social norms, cultural values are changing every day.
Socialization and Cultural Change
Socialization is the process of learning the values and ideologies of society. The process is vital for the continuity and retention of social values and ideologies. Socialization starts from the infancy stage when parents interact and play with their children (Conley, 2017). Different societies adopt different ideologies on food, dating, social relations, and education. Before the industrialization stage, formal education was not a priority. When the parents started working in the industries, they had to enroll children in schools to keep them busy and away from home (Conley, 2017). The process of socialization is thus meant to maintain the cultural values in society.
Globalization and the interaction of people on social media are posing a challenge to socialization. People are learning new behaviors that are not in line with the ideologies and values they were taught from infancy (Ozer et al., 2017). For example, intermarriages are common today, unlike in the past. The socialization process encouraged people to marry from their ethnic group (Ozer et al., 2017). The process of learning ideologies is posing a challenge to socialization. Gender roles are changing despite attempts to socialize people to create strict boundaries.
Socialization discourages binge drinking since it can interfere with vital activities such as work or schooling. While parents insist on responsible drinking behavior, interactions with other members of the society can trigger cultural change (Conley, 2017). For example, studies show that students with binge drinking behavior worsen if they have a roommate with a binge drinking problem. Despite attempts by family members, people can deviate from the cultural norms due to external forces (Ozer et al., 2017). The cultural changes are evident in the current generation, embracing diverse ideologies from various parts of the world.
Socialization does not offer an opportunity for cultural change. The idea is to pass on ideologies from one generation to another and maintain society’s standards. Socialization is a threat to culture change (Ozer et al., 2017). People change their culture when they adopt ideas from other people. In some cases, people decide to go against the cultural values due to the public’s demand. For example, wrestler Owen Hart’s death during the live Over the Edge Pay-per-view wrestling show remains controversial to date (Conley, 2017). After the death, the show continued. The public complained of the procedures’ insensitivity to continue with the show despite the death of a renowned wrestler. Another example of culture change is the no-pants day ride. People remove their pants and take a ride (Conley, 2017). The concept is new and against socialization. Social norms indicate that people should dress decently to maintain dignity and privacy. Despite efforts to make people adhere to certain social norms, cultural values are changing every day.
Conclusion
Cultural change is not possible if people stick to the socialization process of fitting into the social values and ideologies. New concepts emerge as a result of external pressure to adopt cultural changes. People challenge social norms and ideologies to create a new culture. Cultural change is only evident when social standards become obsolete, or people choose to adopt new values.
References
Conley, D. (2017). You may ask yourself: An introduction to thinking like a sociologist. WW Norton & Company.
Brunsdon, Jamie Jacob, and Matthew D. Curtner-Smith. ““My Methods Courses Feel Like Walmart”: Influence of Secondary Organizational Socialization on Early Career Faculty Members’ Implementation of PETE.” Journal of Teaching in Physical Education 1.aop (2022): 1-8.
Ozer, S., Bertelsen, P., Singla, R., & Schwartz, S. J. (2017). “Grab Your Culture and Walk with the Global” Ladakhi Students’ Negotiation of Cultural Identity in the Context of Globalization-Based Acculturation. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 48(3), 294-318.
