Agents of Socialization Essay 3

What is the most significant agent of socialization? Why do friends become more important agents of socialization than parents? There are different types of agents in socialization, including the family, peers, and mass media. These agents of socialization influence our orientations to life. Family places an important role, and as we become older we become part of a society where we can obtain opinions and ideas from someone other than a parent.

The first and most important agent in socialization is the family. Families are those that, from birth, guide us as we become individuals and the union of family is what shows us the foundation of our civilization, our values, beliefs and religion. As infants and throughout the course of our lives, our family is who teaches us how to speak, how to have body control, emotional control, moral values, and how to recognize and observe those rules of public behavior. Without these foundations, we as individuals would not become part of society. Just like our textbook explains, Sociology, written by James Henslin, without these agents of socialization, or without family, we can become feral children if we are kept in isolation. Without our family being there to teach us about civilization and to guide us through life, and if we are kept away from human contact, we will become like the instinct of a wild animal. Just like the boy in the story, from our textbook, Sociology, his parents were shot and killed when he was about two years old, when the villagers found him, the little boy was in the care of a monkey, he did not know , by not having any human contact, he thought it was normal. Society is created of what’s around you. Within a family, parents will always have a special bond with their children. Parents are those people who care for their children, who are there for them in their time of need, and those who make memorable moments out of those special occasions. Friends, on the other hand, are as important as parents are. Throughout a child’s childhood, most kids tend to find a friend, a special person that is not biologically related to them, someone they can count on. This is expected, as a child’s relationship with its parents eventually grows and matures, and sometimes that child wants an outside opinion. Sometimes, parents are not there to hold their child’s hand, and not because they do not want to, but because life’s circumstances come between them. That’s when a child, a person, needs a friend, someone they can count on and relate to. As we become older we become more independent, our parents will always be there but a friend can sometimes be more than just a friend, he or she can become a soul mate, and as soul mates they can start a family of their own and share the same values as they had growing up, and that’s when a friend becomes more of an important agent of socialization than a parent.

In conclusion, every group of agents of socialization is very important. It defines who we are, of what we may become, and it teaches us how to behave in society. Without these agents we would not be able to learn and accept the norms, those languages, behavior and customs which are part of our society.