What Affects Our Socialization

We are all products of our environments. Socialization is a term used to refer to the lifelong process of inheriting and dismissing social norms, customs, and ideologies.It provides an individual with the skills necessary for participating with his or her own society. Socialization is crucial to our development from early infancy to adulthood. It is through socialization that we develop our human potential and learn our set culture. There are many different variables the effect our socialization such as media, teachers, and sports. Two main ones are parents and peers. Since your parents and your peers are a big part in your life, they have a great impact on one's socialization.

One's parents begin to affect them before anything else. My parents have been a major factor of my socialization throughout my life. Being the oldest child, it was woven into me to be industrious and always caring for my siblings. This caring is passed down to my five children, through me. Since I was shown how to love, I can show love to others. My parents would take in people outside of our family that were in a predicament, and expect us to give up our beds to make them comfortable. I now find myself taking in others with problems. It was instilled in me that others matter, and I should go out of my way to make others feel god. So I help when I can. Another way parents affect your socialization is through religion. As you grow up, you observe and learn from your parents. You inherit their habits and customs. Likewise when your parents have a certain religion, you usually have the same one. Also, your parents give you your morals. For example, children born into a political family tend to be very active in politics. Or children born to a pastor usually become leaders in a church. When children start school, Their parents lose the influence they once had. Peers tend to come into their lives through socialization. They come in the form of friends with different morals, ideology, background, and a different set of values. According to Judy Rich Harris, author of the "Nurture Assumption," children are influenced by peers.They adopt many behaviors and habits of peers in a social setting in hope of gaining acceptance. Parents set the behavior at home and peers set the standard socially. I too was influenced by a close friend to dress provocatively. Before she came to live with us, my mother dressed me conservatively. Not too long after my dress code changed, I turned in my long skirts for tight shorts. My new look allowed me to climb up the social ladder, and become popular. Another example of how my peers contributed to my socialization is my shift in music preference. Under my parents roof only worship songs were allowed. When on the other hand there was all the “worldly music,” which was not allowed by my parents.To this day I listen to both.

In conclusion, we all have our parent and peers to thank for helping to mold us into the individuals we are today. Our routines, beliefs, idiosyncrasies and basic socialization. The clothes we wear the music we linen to are all parts of the lives directly influenced by our parents and peers. Our parents start the basis of our moral and social standings, then socialization through school and neighborhood peers help to mold and shape out thinking. Thanks to my parents and peers I am who I am. I put god first, family second, and I can impact others lives with my good values. We are all more then less products of our environment.