Cultural Growth: The Power of Socialization

Socialization is the transformative process through which a helpless infant gradually evolves into a self-aware, knowledgeable individual, skilled in the ways of the culture into which they are born.  It encompasses the development of a child’s understanding of what is considered appropriate behaviour within their society, distinguishing between right and wrong, and grasping the behaviors that receive approval or disapproval.

Without Socialization, an individual would not behave like a human being. For instance, the story of ‘Wolf-children of Midnapore‘, mentioned 2 girls, who walked and howled like wolves and lacked any form of speech. 

Hence, Socialization shapes an individual’s ability to function as a human being within their culture.

Continuity of Socialization: Continuity and Active Learning

• Lifelong Learning: It’s essential to recognize that Socialization is a lifelong process, with primary socialization occurring in the early years and secondary socialization extending throughout one’s life.
• Active Engagement in Socialization: This process isn’t a passive absorption of cultural influences but rather an active engagement where individuals assert their will and express their needs.
• Birth into Kinship: From the moment of birth, a child becomes a member of a family, but they are also part of larger kin groups (biradari, khandaan, clan), which can be nuclear or extended families. 
• Beyond Family Ties: Beyond the family, individuals are members of broader social units like tribes, subcastes, and religious and linguistic groups, which each come with their own behavioral norms and values. 
• Multifaceted Roles: These memberships entail various roles, such as son, daughter, grandchild, or student, often performed simultaneously. 
• Cultural Learning Journey: The process of learning these norms, values, and behavioral patterns begins early in life and continues as one matures.

Cultural Assimilation Through Socialization: Active Formation and Identity Shaping

• Active Formation: While Socialization has an important impact on individuals, it is not a kind of ‘cultural programming’, in which the child absorbs passively the influences with which he or she comes into contact.
• Varied Foundations: Norms and values may vary within a society based on factors like caste, region, social class, or religious affiliation, as well as the distinction between urban and rural environments. 
  • Along with these, language is another key element, influenced by one’s background, with dialects and standard forms reflecting familial, socioeconomic, and cultural factors. 
• Shaping Identity and Behavior: Socialization encompasses all these aspects, playing a fundamental role in shaping an individual’s identity and behavior within their society.

Agencies of Socialisation: Shaping Lives through Socialization

The child is socialized by several agencies and institutions in which s/he participates, viz. family, school, peer group, neighbourhood, occupational group and by social class/caste, region, and religion.

Family: Cultural Impact on Upbringing

• Family Systems: These may  vary across cultures, impacting infants’ Socialization experiences. 
  • Some grow up in nuclear families, while others live in extended families where different relatives play significant roles in their upbringing.
  • In traditional societies, the family you’re born into often determines your lifelong social position. 
  • Even today, factors like region and social class influence socialization. 
• Dynamic Cultural Transmission: Children typically absorb behaviors and values from their parents and community, but they don’t blindly adopt their parents’ outlook, especially in our rapidly changing world. 
  • Various socializing agents and societal changes contribute to differences in generational perspectives and behaviors.

Peer Groups: Shaping Lives and Lifelong Bonds

• Peer Power: Peer groups, composed of children of similar ages, play a crucial role in Socialization. 
  • In some cultures, these groups are formalized as age-grades, while in others, children naturally form friendships with peers of the same age. 
• Egalitarian Bonds: “Peer” implies equality, and peer relationships tend to be more egalitarian compared to family dynamics, although stronger children may exert some dominance.
• Testing Boundaries: Parents can enforce codes of conduct on their children due to their authority, but peer groups offer a different interaction experience where behavioral rules can be tested and explored. 
• Lifelong Impact: Peer relationships often remain significant throughout a person’s life, influencing attitudes and behaviours in various contexts, including the workplace.

Schools: Hidden Lessons 

• Beyond Books: Schools not only provide formal education but also contribute to socialization through a hidden curriculum. 
• Gendered Expectations in Education: This hidden curriculum can include gender-specific expectations, such as girls being assigned cleaning tasks. 
  • Some schools actively work to challenge these gender norms by assigning tasks regardless of gender.

Mass Media: From Screens to Connectivity

• Cultural Influencer: Mass media, including television and print, plays a significant role in modern society. 
  • It can democratize access to information and reach even remote areas. 
  • Research on media’s influence on people, especially children, is ongoing, and the impact of on-screen violence remains a debated topic.
• Global Appeal: However, the media’s reach is undeniable, exposing individuals to diverse experiences and information. 
  • Indian television and films have garnered audiences worldwide, even among those who don’t speak the language.
  • Example: Mahabharat shown to British children who only spoke English. 
• Digital Revolution in Rural Connectivity: In recent times, digital media via the Internet is gaining prominence. 
  • Example: Many villages, which are devoid of proper roads and literacy centres, are connected through digital platforms. 

Other Socialising Agencies: Work and Social Dynamics

• Beyond the Familiar: Besides these, there are other groups, or social contexts, in which individuals spend large parts of their lives.
• Work: It is a significant social context for Socialization in all cultures, but in industrial societies, it’s common for people to work in separate locations from their homes. 
• Traditional communities often involved working close to home, whether in agriculture or home-based workshops.

Socialization and Individual Freedom: Socialization and Individual Freedom

• Balancing Act: From the above discussion, it may appear that socialization eliminates individuality or free will by forcing individuals to conform to social norms and values. 
• Socialization’s Impact on Individuality: Like our  cultural surroundings, which influence our behaviour and values, socialization also plays a crucial role in shaping our individuality and capacity for independent thought and action.
  • Socialization helps maintain cultural stability.
  • However, It can never completely reduce people to conformity, as conflicts can arise between different socializing agents, such as schools, homes, and peer groups.