Social Media as an Agent of The Secondary Socialisation

Secondary socialisation plays a very important part in the whole life of individuals, which includes peer group, education and mass media. The social media is one of the characters of mass media in contemporary society which is an influential agent to people. However, for the purpose of this essay, secondary socialisation is defined as an agency which replace the family and close communication to helps people not only to get knowledge, culture and skills, but also includes developing the personalities and thinking way completely as a member in society. In fact, education is the major social institution which runs through almost a quarter of life. Therefore, this essay argues that the social media is not influence people most in secondary socialisation, but education has a greater impact on individuals. Because it can teach knowledge and shape sound personality, and influence future status, whilst the various information and wide human interaction, are negated by the useless information and not uniqueness source, and ineffective social interaction.

The education system is provided by the government as the responsibility. In most regions, people will be sent to the school for the basic education at a certain age. It is considered that the education can learn knowledge and skills which are general in social to help them build their own views (Dewey, J. 1944). The correct alternative of thinking can help people build basic right or wrong judgement. To a certain extent, as Deming (2011) pointed out, it inhibited the rate of crime and anti-social. Except that, the hidden curriculum which is not in the formal timetables also influence their opinion and behaviour in a way. Additionally, the basic education lays the foundation for people to get higher education. As Gingell and Winch (2008) propose, it has positive influence for personal development, not only have a strong cultural identity, but also complete their personalities. In addition, the level of education also influences the road of individuals’ life. Further, it can provide more choice of their life. For example, the per capita income of educated people is often higher than that of uneducated people. Because they have more opportunities to contact a good job, but the uneducated people only can work in simple works unless they have special opportunity. Further, the level of education can individual influence the professional technical ability, which can help people to be promoted and get a superior status (Johnk, 2016). In fact, the information provided from education system is chosen by official institutions, which is helpful and useful to people. For these reasons, the education system has a long-term and positive influence on individuals.

Social media is widely used in modern society, people spend many time on their phone, especially spend time on some social media apps or website. It is argued that the social media as an agent which is most influential in the secondary socialisation because people can receive various information from the social media. For example, in the UK, the rate of people who find their news from social media rose from 20 percent to 30 percent since 2013, and it showed an increasing trend. For another example, press barons always use social media to guide people’s opinion on something. However, there is a large amount of chaotic information can be obtained from social media, that led to the audience hard to sorted out this information. In addition, people have been built an independent thinking way by education system which help more people to avoid this trap. For these reasons, this information cannot be inputted to the audience easily, which may become invalid information, or recreational information. Except that, this information is useless and less effect on the people real life. For instance, people can get current news from Facebook, Twitter or other social media conveniently, which will cause discussion, but it is far away from the life of people. In fact, social media only provides a platform for sharing opinions. Further, compared with the real life, as McCord, Widom and Crowell (2001) proposed, a crime model in peer group easier to impact people than on the social media. Therefore, the education as an indispensable part in secondary socialisation, which also has a strong influence on people.

A further argument why social media become the most influential is the wide interaction. Social media support the communication platform for people to connect with each other, which can ignore the distance and time. As a new form of personal connections, individuals can get to know more people through social media. In a survey, there are two-thirds of teens who made a new friend on a social media platform. Additionally, nine-in-ten teens connect with friends or peer group on social media (Lenhart, 2015). However, the main contacts of people are related with their real life. In fact, social media is used as an auxiliary tool to chat with others. In a study which did by Sheffield Hallam University (2007), the close friends of 90 percent of people are who see each other face to face. It is believed that people have to meet each other in reality, which is in order to maintain a long term and trustworthy relationship. Additionally, the attitude and behaviours are influenced less from social media than the real relationship. Thus, the relationship on social media is not stable, the behaviour of people is influenced by real life usual.

In conclusion, this essay has argued that the social media is not the most influential one in secondary socialisation, but as an incidental agent which more looks like a tool. The education system as the basic part which has a greater influential for people’s life in secondary socialisation. Because education system provides knowledge and builds individual personalities. Although there can get a large amount of information and create a wide interaction on social media, the mass and useless information, and ineffective and untrusted social interaction as the refutation. The social media has influence partly, however, education system exist as the foundation, and its position and influence in secondary socialization is higher. There is undeniable that the influence of social media is increasing, it may become the most influential agent in the future, but before that time, it has a long way to go.

References

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