social interaction
Essay Question –
Which is more important in shaping individual identity: social structure or social interaction?
In the past the idea of identity was easily defined, people knew who they were as defined by their traditions and religion. Identities were shared and people existed as part of a community where identity was established and integrated in a natural order. However, as capitalism developed and modern societies rapidly changed, so did people’s view of themselves. Today people change their identities in a chameleon like way in search of their ‘true selves’ moulding into the situations they find themselves (Macionis & Plummer 2012, pp.228-229). The question therefore remains, how does a person’s individual identity develop? This essay examines whether individual identity is shaped by our social interactions within our immediate environment or by the structures that make up our broader social context by examining past sociological theoretical perspectives. The argument will surmise that an individual’s identity is neither a result of social interaction or social structure independently, rather, that our identity is formed by both, dependently in different situations and times in our lives.
Identity is about belonging, it is about what you have in common but also about what differentiates you from others in combination with your social relationships (Weeks, cited in Macionis & Plummer 2012, p.228). There has often been a distinction made between individual and collective identity as distinct from one another, the former being unique to oneself and how one differs, the latter being shared by the greater collectively and how one is similar. Both have typically been accepted as uniquely independent (Jenkins 2008, pp.37-38). Recent views suggest that both emerge out of similarity and difference to make up our individual identity.
From a macro sociological perspective identity is shaped by the outer, the greater systems and structures to which we are
Which is more important in shaping individual identity: social structure or social interaction?
In the past the idea of identity was easily defined, people knew who they were as defined by their traditions and religion. Identities were shared and people existed as part of a community where identity was established and integrated in a natural order. However, as capitalism developed and modern societies rapidly changed, so did people’s view of themselves. Today people change their identities in a chameleon like way in search of their ‘true selves’ moulding into the situations they find themselves (Macionis & Plummer 2012, pp.228-229). The question therefore remains, how does a person’s individual identity develop? This essay examines whether individual identity is shaped by our social interactions within our immediate environment or by the structures that make up our broader social context by examining past sociological theoretical perspectives. The argument will surmise that an individual’s identity is neither a result of social interaction or social structure independently, rather, that our identity is formed by both, dependently in different situations and times in our lives.
Identity is about belonging, it is about what you have in common but also about what differentiates you from others in combination with your social relationships (Weeks, cited in Macionis & Plummer 2012, p.228). There has often been a distinction made between individual and collective identity as distinct from one another, the former being unique to oneself and how one differs, the latter being shared by the greater collectively and how one is similar. Both have typically been accepted as uniquely independent (Jenkins 2008, pp.37-38). Recent views suggest that both emerge out of similarity and difference to make up our individual identity.
From a macro sociological perspective identity is shaped by the outer, the greater systems and structures to which we are
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