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Han Grunert

Humanities 9

Socialization Essay

5 December 2023

Socialization Essay

Socialization is the definition of selective groups of stereotypes, norms and ideals that

interact with different groups of people in different ways. A person’s identity can be categorized

by their age, gender, religion, race and can even be categorized in other ways at school, church,

in teams, friend groups, sports, hobbies and more. Socialization can result in negative and

positive experiences. No matter what group you stand in and for, it can affect you differently. For

example, if you once were practicing a certain religion and you decide to change this “religion,”

you could affect the way your family perceives you now based on the fact that you might have

grown up in that religion and now you no longer believe in it. It's a positive change for you but

affects your family life which is a negative thing. For me, I am still figuring out where I am

affected through socialization in society. I am constantly experiencing stereotypes and society

blips but it's been a positive experience. What I know is this; I am a privileged white male, even

though I am one third Native American/Mexican. Today we are dealing with so many more

stereotypes and identities that it makes being a kid even more confusing, unless you have strong

parents that help you realize what is good and how to navigate it all.

The media, whether that is social media or the internet, is constantly telling us young

adults to be something other than we are not. Many adults and kids do believe this and do find

themselves stuck in a situation that affects them negatively. Is this because no one in their family

is helping them see the reality? or is it because society has such a strong force it manipulates us
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young adults into believing all these different groups, religions, races, and genders don't belong

together or are equal. I believe we should all be accepting no matter what.

I do believe social media takes a toll on young kids like me, because there is immense

pressure to be something other than ourselves. Society does manipulate us young adults into

believing that all these different groups, religions, races, and genders don't belong together or are

not equal. This can lead to unhealthy habits and thinking. Social Media is designed to deceive.

Many adults and kids do believe this and find themselves stuck in a situation that affects them

negatively. My sister went through this and was affected by wanting to be something she was

not, for example she was influenced by all of the negative information that the media portrayed.

She believed that she wasn't good enough and wanted to hurt herself. This included false

representation of people in her life though images and It included people giving free range

speech that was negative without consequences. In addition, she also immersed herself in

inappropriate apps that influenced her to do drugs and sell herself short. Its hard to explain

without giving up too much personal detail.

When it came to me, my parents helped me understand how to deal with certain

situations, such as social media and everything that goes along with it. They support me by

giving me tools to stay open minded and true to myself. These tools include limited screen time,

showing empathy for others, how to resolve conflicts, not believing everything you see-not

everything you see is real and of course to be kind. Now turning the page to another thought,

based on my status and class, I feel as though I was raised with sympathy and gratitude, because

both my parents were poor, my mom is a minority and both had to work hard for everything they

did. I feel like I see this and I respect this. They teach me to stay on track and to be myself and

not let the media or others put me in a stereo box. I am a strong person because of my upbringing
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and I believe that plays in how I think through things and deal with negativity and positivity.

This has changed me because I have guidance. Guidance in the form of having rules. Those rules

are checking in with my parents, again limited time on devices, showing respect and appropriate

behavior. All in all, between my sister and I, we both have had different experiences with social

media and society-she with the bad or negative and me with the good or positive. There is a yin

and yang with us.

This brings us to another interesting topic about socialization, but specifically in the

family. This is a process that takes place throughout the person's life-from child to adutlhood.

Over time the child learns Attitudes, behaviors, rules, morals and values and it shapes who they

are and how they act. For example, if you have a mom and dad that are together and then parents

that are divorced, there are going to be two very different social experiences in each of those

families. It can be a positive and negative experience in both. My family structure is that my

parents have been together my whole life, nothing out of the ordinary. I believe the reason I have

a positive social life, is because my grandpa and my dad have always been social butterflies. This

gives me the power to be comfortably social as well. I have always been comfortable around

people of all ages. Having the power to be successfully social allows me as an individual to not

be influenced by someone else's opinion, this goes back to social media and how I have been

able to successfully think for myself. The morals of my family structure, to go back to using

“pleases and thank you’s.” The idea of having manners and respect for myself. This also

touches on the base of having values for myself and what I say and do in the media. My parents

are constantly explaining the values of having positive things to say, “Han be honest, Han have

integrity, Han give yourself the courage to do whatever it takes.” My family structure or
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socialization has been a positive experience. Yes, I have had some negative things happen to me,

but I feel as though it is my upbringing that helped me stay on track in this unforgiving world.

In conclusion, socialization is a way that all humans learn in their environment. It may

come from the media, family, school, gender, or race. It is how all people find out who they are,

whether it's a positive or negative adventure. Socialization is how we interpret the world around

us and unfortunately within the world there have been stereotypes that have popped out to

categorize individuals. No matter what group you stand for or in, there are positive and negative

aspects. Stereotypes are not all bad, sometimes it helps those of us who need a little direction, but

sometimes it is detrimental and we need to not take it so personally. It's kinda complicated. But

as for me, I can break the harmful cycles of socialization by staying strong in what I was raised

in. It's like the domino effect, if you are staying strong then your kids will stay strong.

Parents that grow up in a positive environment and then help raise their kids that way or vice

versa. It's a yin and yang effect.