Socialization
Socialization, Social Interaction and Family 1
Sociology
Erlinda Benavides
West Coast University
Socialization, Social Interaction and Family 2
A Simple Greeting “How are you?” is a question asked multiple times in our everyday life. However, it is somewhat assumed that nobody will ever give an honest answer, nor is what people really expect to hear. The question “how are you?” seems to be just another way of simply saying “hello.” After trying the of truly answering to the question “how are you?” it was interesting to observe most people’s initial reactions. First, I experimented with my co-workers. With almost all of my co-workers, not only did answering the question felt awkward for myself, but it seemed to make them feel a little uncomfortable themselves. Most of them seemed so surprised they didn’t know what to respond nor how to react to the answer. Some avoided eye contact while others simply smiled just to be polite. Nobody really seemed to be much interested in how I was really feeling. Only one of the respiratory therapists reacted differently, she actually turned it into an ongoing conversation, and even began sharing her personal troubles. On the other hand, it was interesting to observe that when truly answering to family and those close to me, it did not feel awkward and the reaction was completely the opposite. They were actually really concerned and very interested to know how I was truly feeling. When replying to my sister, she actually sat down to listen and we ended up talking for long hours. My mom was actually surprised and said “how come you never tell me what’s really going on with you?” When replying to my close friend, she was actually surprised and showed concern, and actually expressed how she was truly feeling as well. The question “how are you?” should
Sociology
Erlinda Benavides
West Coast University
Socialization, Social Interaction and Family 2
A Simple Greeting “How are you?” is a question asked multiple times in our everyday life. However, it is somewhat assumed that nobody will ever give an honest answer, nor is what people really expect to hear. The question “how are you?” seems to be just another way of simply saying “hello.” After trying the of truly answering to the question “how are you?” it was interesting to observe most people’s initial reactions. First, I experimented with my co-workers. With almost all of my co-workers, not only did answering the question felt awkward for myself, but it seemed to make them feel a little uncomfortable themselves. Most of them seemed so surprised they didn’t know what to respond nor how to react to the answer. Some avoided eye contact while others simply smiled just to be polite. Nobody really seemed to be much interested in how I was really feeling. Only one of the respiratory therapists reacted differently, she actually turned it into an ongoing conversation, and even began sharing her personal troubles. On the other hand, it was interesting to observe that when truly answering to family and those close to me, it did not feel awkward and the reaction was completely the opposite. They were actually really concerned and very interested to know how I was truly feeling. When replying to my sister, she actually sat down to listen and we ended up talking for long hours. My mom was actually surprised and said “how come you never tell me what’s really going on with you?” When replying to my close friend, she was actually surprised and showed concern, and actually expressed how she was truly feeling as well. The question “how are you?” should
References: A. Benavides, personal communication, September 14, 2012. A. Cordero, personal communication, September 15, 2012. C. Benavides, personal communication, September 16, 2012. C. Luby, personal communication, September 14, 2012. E. Benavides, personal communication, September 16, 2012. E. Herrera, personal communication, September 15, 2012. J. Vergara, personal communication, September 15, 2012. J. Leoncio, personal communication, September 16, 2012. M. Abad, personal communication, September 15, 2012. M. Lustre personal communication, September 15, 2012.