Social institutions
Social institutions This essay will explore the ways in which two key social institutions influence my development. Institutions are sets of cultural ideas about how things are to be done by people who are organized around certain activities. These ideas constitute guidelines for social groupings to follow. Two social institutions have and continue to play an important role in defining who I am today, media and family. Media is a very influential institution considering society has become dependent on it. Media constantly provides viewers with images, news, and information. What the media portrays however may not always be a reliable source as information can easily become distorted. Along with media, family is important and influential primarily because of the countless hours one spends with their family. Family taught me what is socially acceptable such as using your manners, going to the washroom, and having good communicational skills. In this essay I will argue that media and family are two fundamental social institutions contributing to my process of socialization because they teach me norms, outline the status and roles I play within them, and influence me in my development. Media and family have superior roles in my process of socialization over other social institutions such as politics, education, and religion. These processes have effectively shaped my understandings, values, and beliefs regarding society. Specifically, media and family play a larger role as opposed to politics, education and religion because throughout my childhood, more time was dedicated to media and family. The more time spent within an institution, the more influential it becomes. Different institutions will influence different people however these two contribute to my values, beliefs, ideologies and my process of socialization the greatest. Media is defined as a means of communication, and dominates people's attention. Society has become dependent on media over the past