To further on the question at the end of the video (do we have the power to control our lives or are we constrained by societal forces) personally, I believe the answer isn't one or the other, it's a mixture of both. At this point in my life it's basically common knowledge that people are going to do what the media says is "hip"- my generation could be called the generation of followers. But there has to be someone to set the "hip" trends. Without them there's nothing new to follow. How do people follow a new trend if no one is willing to step out and create it? In our own personally lives we have our own "tiny trends" that we set for ourselves. All of sophomore year I would make myself tea before school. Nobody taught me this or planted the idea in my head, I did it myself. In a really weird way to look at it, the answer is like an ice cream swirl. It's not chocolate, but it's not not chocolate; and it's not vanilla, but it's also not not vanilla. And you could take the chocolate out of the swirl and it still be ice cream, but it's not an ice cream swirl anymore- if that makes any sense. Also, on an unrelated note, I really loved the art design in the video. Spoopy005
I agree very much on the mixture of us controlling our lives and societal forces doing their part. I like the fact you mention "tiny trends". I'd call them more of a force of habit though something that you started in order to almost print yourself into your own identity due to either how you were raised and by the people around you. Just some simple little quirks of everyone could make a huge difference on the world. Food and beverage companies do this yearly they take random peoples ideas or ways the people prepare/use their products put a new sticker on them and make profit. Ever heard of Oreo thins? there a basic Oreo but they have less creme filling making them thinner...I know your mind is blown with amazement right now but that all started because thousands of people were alternating the cookie and the company liked the idea. Another great example is anything fried no matter where you go people fry different things mexico you have fried tortilla shells and in Iowa you can have a fried corn dog (definitely better than oreo thins). My little quirk is when i see something rusty i soak it in Coca Cola that stuff is so acidic it will eat the rust off anything. But with my many food related examples my point was that everyone's society is different California nobody is in a hurry yet across the country in New York the place is like an ant colony on energy drinks and over prices coffee. And I thought that your aspect of this video really toned down the complexity of the video making it easier to understand. -BikeMaker005
I think everyone would like to control their own lives but that comes with education, maturity and well thought out life decisions. Spoopy had two interesting statements: First, do people do what the media says? What would the sociological perspective be on the effect of media? Would Comte ask companies the number of viewers compared to sales after an ad was aired? Second statement, How would a sociologist evaluate a follower; by age group, gender, history? Are support people necessary to keep the world prospering? I find this all interesting to think about!! I like tea also!! grandma005
Technically, if it is a mixture, then the answer is that we are in fact restrained by societal forces. It is kind of an all or nothing scenario. If we are at all influenced by societal forces, then we don't have absolute control over our lives independent of societies ebb and tide. This isn't a bad thing though. We human beings are creatures that evolved as pack animals. Society and all of its benefits would not be possible without the part of us that is inevitably influenced by societal standards from the get go, we would most likely not be nearly as advanced as we are today. In fact, we may not exist at all -- ours is a species that is reliant on community for survival. We have no exceptional physical features to help us survive. No claws, no fangs, no physical strength or speed to write home about, and no impressive defensive mechanisms. Really the only exceptional thing about humans physically is our long distance running ability. So thank god for our communal tendencies. This is my way of saying that our lack of perfect autonomy is a strength rather than a weakness, and you should allow it to produce feelings of community and belonging rather than despair or uneasiness. Poet005
When people see a new trend they have to have it just to fit in. What happened to people wanting to be themselves and trying new things that some people wouldn't normally try. I know some people are like that including me, i've strayed away from the person I used to be and wanted to fit in with everyone else. setting new trends is better than being a follower. Rose005
We as people live on the aspect of what we are around, see, and hear do to the fact that it's all we know. People are very impressionable unless they are strong willed or if they have been around the block, or they know a few things, but there's not many. If a child grows up watching his mother and father go to work every day and make a living for their family than that child has a better chance of growing up and doing something with their life, because that's all he knows. Now on the other hand if a person grows up watching his father beat his mother then that person is more likely to grow up thinking it's alright to beat a woman. I feel it's true that we are a product of our environment. The world we live in is afraid to do our own thing, or maybe we just do know how so we feel have to follow what we have been taught or shown to do or what society say is right. Do we have to power to control our own life. I would say yes, but it's so easy not too. In reality we can control our own life not saying it will be easy but if a person really wants to take control of their own life I think they could. Cupcake005
I very much agree with what you're saying. People themselves have the overall decision on how their life turns out. All the decisions they make are on themselves. I also feel as people in this world are scared to go the other way and do their own thing. They could get ridiculed and thought of differently. No one wants to feel bad or thought bad of. So people follow the trends and what's popular to fit in. It's just the way the society is at this current time. How you grow up plays a big part and the role models you have. Nevertheless i feel at the end of the day the person as an individual can always choose what they want. Mustang005
People's early life is a very impressionable age. Parent's mold their children into what they want them to become. Hopefully this is to have them become successful. Not every parent can raise their child in the exact way they want to tough, as they may not have the resources to do so. I also agree that people can break what they were molded to do so, but at an increased difficulty, It is always hard to create change in your own life, and even harder to adapt to it, but we as humans are able to adapt, as we always have. Acer005
Growing up I was raised to be respectful of my elders, polite to others, and to treat others as I would like to be treated, yes, paraphrasing what we learned in church. Family has been re-defined, from the time when I was growing up. In my generation you were taught how to be a proper gentleman or lady, which I agree and disagree with, if this makes any sense. Society today seems to be more attuned to what is the "trend" or "phase" that the media reports for that moment. People are not afraid to speak their minds these days, possibly due to something they heard others speak about or what they saw on some form of media. We want to believe that as a society we know what is right and what is wrong, yet we still see violence, bigotry, hatred, and so much more. I agree that people are very impressionable, but why do we continue to allow these attrocities to happen? Families today are not the same as when I was a child, but it is still a family, if they love and respect each other and themselves. This generation's youth have a broader view of the world around them than I did when I was their age. I believe that who you are and how you act is developed by what experiences you will face or did face as you grew. Do we have the power to control our lives? Yes. Are we constrained by societal forces? That depends on what you expect of you. Are you someone who follows along just to be a part of the moment, or someone who believes they can make a difference? Seoulman005
These are great words to live by, "Treat others as you would like to be treated." I agree with that statement 100% even though some people do become naive and don't agree with that statement. Families now a day don't seem like they are tight unit. It seems that some families, don't even sit around the dinner table with each other and talk and learn from each other. That one family member will be in the other room watching something on the TV. Phones will be out, and nobody will be paying attention to each other. But I do agree that families are families and that there is a lot of love still in those families. But they aren't like they used to be with technology and social media being on the rise.
These are great words to live by, "Treat others as you would like to be treated." I agree with that statement 100% even though some people do become naive and don't agree with that statement. Families now a day don't seem like they are tight unit. It seems that some families, don't even sit around the dinner table with each other and talk and learn from each other. That one family member will be in the other room watching something on the TV. Phones will be out, and nobody will be paying attention to each other. But I do agree that families are families and that there is a lot of love still in those families. But they aren't like they used to be with technology and social media being on the rise. TB005
I totally agree with this. Everything is more trendy now a days and that is what everyone lives by. A lot of people believe in almost everything that gets posted to the media. But not everything you read or see in the media is true. You see people risking their lives and doing something stupid because of something they saw in the media. You also see teenagers committing suicide because of something that was posted to social media. What happened to respect for others? I was taught to always respect others know matter what. I will always stick to this approach. PAWW005
I do agree that we live in a world of constant bombardment from too much social media, news sources, and internet access, but it can’t be all we know. People are also very impressionable, but I do not think they have to be strong willed or older to make their own decisions. In our generation I also agree that we may have been more “follower” than trend setter, but we also didn’t have the access that this generation now has to the world and what is happening every second of every day. Children today seem to have a different concept of what is the correct way to act, not behave, but act in situations that are even more confusing than when we were that age. The definition of “family” has been re-defined in today’s society, but it is still a family if you love and respect each other. Being in control of one’s life is, at best, determined by who we are and how we act and react to situations. I agree that we do have the power to take control of our lives, and there will always be some struggle or conflict. But isn’t that what we call life?Seoulman005
I do agree with you that in this time we are more to follow then to be a trend setter but what about the people who do step out and become a trend setter? Those people are often bullied or ridiculed and then they go back to the norm and conform to what society holds out for them. Only a very few choose to stay a trend setter and continue to be one. The fact that people in this age have more resources and see in a different concept is true. Now a day’s people set the course of their life based of what we see and how we see it. We see struggle, some tend to live in struggle we see riches and some tend to reach for the riches. It is all what we make of it and how we see it. Dollar005
If feel like I'm on a roller coaster made with big words I don't truly understand and questions that these words make me wonder about. I've never really put much thought into this subject mainly due to the fact that I just didn't care or just didn't truly understand the reasons for other peoples actions. And to look back in my life and to think about did I ever do anything due to societal forces. I can honestly tell you yes I've changed so much for so many reasons. Wither it be for girlfriends, schools, work, the list is endless. In today's society there is so many trends and such a fast way to communicate across the world to show someone in Thailand what somebody was doing in Germany yesterday. It truly amazes me to see all these cultures from different parts of the world. And I feel like they all set their own social standards for living. For example your not going to Iraq if your a woman and not wear a hijab . Or go to an Amish community in your underwear and a pair of boots, they will look at you like your either the devil or your just plain crazy. But I feel like the internet and all this technology we have at our disposal brought the world closer. If you wanna see whats going on in the North pole there's these awesome scientist up there that will video chat you what they're doing! But I also feel like the technology we have is distracting us from whats in front of you. Ya Carl, that's real cool that you just remote controlled a drone into a tree with your iPhone but while you were doing that your kid just swallowed a tube of glue. Now that being the most humorist situation. I wonder now how people can create groups or subcultures in today's society due to the fact that there are so many different types of people in this country let alone this world. We are all different people with the same amount of needs yet we differ on how we achieve these needs wither it be through violence or by quite simply asking for something. I wanna know all the things that can affect a single person into making the decisions. -BikeMaker005
I definitely agree with you on so many levels. Truly I have put a lot of thought into the subject, but I have come to terms with myself that I no longer care about the matter because I feel that it's truly not meant to understand the reasons for other peoples actions. I feel that there is no way that we can understand everybody. All our minds are different and that what makes the world go round good or mad. I'm not prefect at all I've did some things in my life that I would have not went though with now that I look back on my life. I feel that technology has changed this world so much, there is a lot of great things about it as well as bad things the list will never end it's just how a person looks at the situation. Cupcake005
I was born and raised catholic went to church every Sunday and holidays, I even went to bible study every Wednesday nights. I was baptized, had my first communion, and when I was at the proper age I was confirmed. Everyone in my family was doing it I just wanted to keep stepping up in the ranks of the church and be more like the adults. My father was not born catholic he joined the church after meeting my mother. Why did he have to join the church in order to be with her? Why is it now that the only time I step in a church is either for a funeral or a wedding? How come I am ok with my wife and kids who are not catholic establish their own belief`s? I became educated in which made me a free thinker to study my own life and the events to where I am now that if I was to put myself in a religion It would be my own. So why did I go from being a devoted catholic to disregarding the bible. Quite simple no one is going to tell me what to believe in not even a book that has been passed through and written by many people. How many people have read the gospel of Mary? Slim to none as she is not a man and her story was never put in the bible. Now would I have done so much studying if I hadn’t been so devoted in my youth or even writing this response only on one aspect of sociology if religion wasn’t such a big part of my life? You may think you have free choice that you make your own decisions but why did you have to make the decision in the first place. All decisions that someone makes has been implanted in their brain sometime throughout their life in order to be coursed into having or wanting to make a decision. If you didn’t hear about the new medical studies would you have even thought about being more health conscious? If you want something than something was put in your head to even think if want it or not. Just because you think does not make you a free thinker, there is a reason why you are thinking in the first place. BHL005
The Gospel of Mary....Very interesting. Most are unaware. You make many valid and interesting points. Social forces do contribute to our behavior and the regulation of it!!! SimplyMe005
In my house, I was raised to always apologize if I made a mistake or have hurting someone. To hold the door for people who are walking by, and if they don't say, "Thank you" don't say anything to them. Just mind your own business and continue with whatever you were doing. I was raised to treat women with respect, to never raise my voice to any woman or adult. There are many places in the world, where these rules are not followed. I know in different regions of the United States, people will give you attitude just for the smallest thing, like not holding the door open for that person. There are many places out in the eastern hemisphere of Earth where women are not giving equal rights or they are made to be slaves. But the question I have is, is it nature or nurture? Were some people who give other people attitude for the smallest things not raised correctly? Or is that how they learned from looking around and that happening to them? Same with women in other parts of the world, where they born into that position? Or did they mess up in life and got into that position? There are many things to think about when looking at someone's actions or even getting into a conflict with someone. What kind of life did they or even you as an individual live? TB005
I was raised the same way, you must give respect in order to get some in return, that is why you follow the golden rule: treat others the way you want to be treated. To answer your question about it being nature or nurture. I would say it is a little bit of both. There are people out there who were not raised to treat others with respect, it could go back for generations. But then it could also be that those people are following what they learn in outside world. Or they are looking up to someone they admire and are just following in their footsteps. I believe that it is in some ways both. -Dance005
In my life I have never really looked at how someone acts and wondered what that meant from a sociological aspect. We live in a society today where I believe most people are all about their public figure. Or in other words, what does every one say or think about you when they see you? I’ll admit, I’m that person. I’m not overly proud of it either. Society never used to be that way. You see more trends now than ever before and people just want to fit in with everyone else. Sometimes that can take away the basic things in life that we learn, like manners, respect, responsibility, etc. With the new upgrades in technology, I believe that makes people more lazy. You see a big difference now then about 10 years ago. I hear a lot of adults say “when I was your age we didn't have fancy calculators and iPhones to do our job for us.” in a lot of ways technology has helped us in life and made our lives easier, but what happened to figuring things out on your own? That comes with responsibility. I wish I could go back in time and see what society was like 20-30 years ago, because I bet it was a whole lot different. PAWW005
Through the study of sociology, and knowing that we as humans are capable of controlling our own lives is a very exciting thing to known. I also never knew that there were people who actually really studied the general theory of action. But by knowing these things it makes me feel a little better about life, and just knowing that we as humans are capable of changing the way we view life itself puts a little ease to everything. And though we are all different,through individuals we are capable of changing lives of others. It is possible to study lives of individuals, and I feel that with these studies there could be a lot of things that we can fix and change in todays society. But yes I feel 100% that people are capable of controlling their own lives, but they are only constrained by society by so much, but If you are able to understand the true study of study of sociology, controlling your own life should not be a problem. I look forward to this class and looking more and more deeper into the study of the mind of different people and how they all think,and also learn how much we are all alike. Annie2016
Why spend our time questioning and studying human society as sociologists want us to? Perhaps the knowledge will help us make wiser life decisions and become active participants on the stage of life and observe as sociologists. A better person does affect those around them and statistics change as Sociologists evaluate. Looking back, my family was greatly affected by WW 11 when my father returned to his wife and baby girl. Because he was born in the U.S., a higher income country. he was able to by an affordable GI home and use the GI Bill to complete a college law degree and we went from love income to comfortable income. So the ware and US Govt. gave him the opportunity to succeed and he chose to take advantage of the circumstances. At the same time society said a good mother stayed home, raised the children, cooked and kept a clean house. Few woman has careers and the accepted jobs for women were nurse, teacher or secretary. A man was the wage earner, cut the grass and took care of the car. Then at 16 my parents divorced and my life really changed along with my younger brother and sister to being a single parent family living with my aunt and uncle until my mother could find a job that would support all of us because good jobs for women were scarce. When I graduated fromhigh school there was no money for college and my mother asked me not to go to work and take care of my brother and sister when she was a work. A year later I decided to start a life of my own, get married, buy a home and have children because that is what girls my age did (according to society). After raising 3 capable, kind sons that I am proud of, I divorced and have lived the last 25 years single and happy. How would the sociologists evaluate a grandma going to school at 73??? grandma005
I feel as people can make their own choices in life. The social part of the world has some big influences though. People like to follow trends and do what's popular at the time. Everyone wants to fit in at no matter what age. Some people are afraid to stand up and go the opposite way. The reason i feel that is, is because of the society we live in today. I'm not sure what it was like in the past, but i know the world we live in today. Nobody wants to be that odd one out. Anyone and everyone wants to fit in. Not only will the social media aspect of life influence you, but also how you were grown up. Your parents can influence on how they raised you or really anything you saw. I myself was not raised with the best role model of a father but, he made me who i am today. As i watched him over time i realized that's exactly who i don't want to be. Im making myself a better person than he was. Who knows how i would act or what i would be doing at this very moment if i wasn't around him. Everything you're around can influence you, but i feel you can always make your life decisions on your own. Mustang005
I agree of course we make our own choices in life but people have gone to far in trying to be with the "it crowd" rather it's a pre teen dealing with issue at school such as bullying or even teens dealing with the pressure in society to be the best dressed in high school,have sex or do drugs or even young parents out here trying to give their kids everything just to say they got their kids everything society and social media has made just about everything and competition and it's for all the wrong reasons. Leathas005
I have always seen the world from a sociological perspective, even before I knew what the word sociology meant. It has always felt natural for me to view the human world on every level from the global scene down to individual action as a complex series of reactions playing off of each other. It reminds me of that gimmicky game known as "telephone" in which one person whispers a single word or phrase to the person next to them, and then that person does the same, and this is repeated over and over until the final person says out loud what he thinks the original phrasing was, and it turns out to be something grossly different. Individual action can often seem so random and disconnected from local and orbital context that it seems exceptional and singular. The truth however, is that there are just too many filters between the action and the influence to easily see the connection -- though it is there. That being said, I think a basic understanding of sociology puts certain kinds of people in a position to despair a bit at how seemingly inconsequential their individual will is in the grand scheme of things. It can make one feel as though one's individuality is more of a factory setting rather than a genuinely identifying and exclusive state of being. As a cognitive therapist would tell you though, the way you think of things is just as important as what you think of. It is probably true that you and I are factory settings, but it is important to note that the factory in question is capable of storing an infinite number of those settings, and as a result we really are still unique. Poet005
Most people including me (in the past) , rely on food or other necessities for comfort and tend to over eat to fill the void. .A Lot of people go with what is new and stray from what they used to do. Some may rely on others because they don't have the self will to go workout or go eat healthy. They want to fit in with everyone else but yet when they do they don't feel any better about themselves because in reality is it what they really want? Towns that have more fast food places rather than markets tend to also have more obese individual. The way we look at food is also a factor. In most cases people would rather choose a Big Mac over a salad because of the advertisement or price, but in reality fast food can become addictive if you use it to boost your mood. But in other cases you see that your friends have fast food on their snapchat story and now you have the urge to get some yourself. You wouldn't have came up with idea if it didn't get put in your head. You have to make your own decisions and stop relying on others to take control. If you want to go workout for three hours but your friends or family don't, dont let it stop you from doing what you want. Everyone now a days worries about how they look or how they prow around. For example, If you were to see a limited edition pink collection and it was almost sold out, never to come out again, would you jump on the bandwagon to try to fit in? You don't have to have the best clothes to set a trend. Be yourself.
Most people including me (in the past) , rely on food or other necessities for comfort and tend to over eat to fill the void. .A Lot of people go with what is new and stray from what they used to do. Some may rely on others because they don't have the self will to go workout or go eat healthy. They want to fit in with everyone else but yet when they do they don't feel any better about themselves because in reality is it what they really want? Towns that have more fast food places rather than markets tend to also have more obese individual. The way we look at food is also a factor. In most cases people would rather choose a Big Mac over a salad because of the advertisement or price, but in reality fast food can become addictive if you use it to boost your mood. But in other cases you see that your friends have fast food on their snapchat story and now you have the urge to get some yourself. You wouldn't have came up with idea if it didn't get put in your head. You have to make your own decisions and stop relying on others to take control. If you want to go workout for three hours but your friends or family don't, dont let it stop you from doing what you want. Everyone now a days worries about how they look or how they prow around. For example, If you were to see a limited edition pink collection and it was almost sold out, never to come out again, would you jump on the bandwagon to try to fit in? You don't have to have the best clothes to set a trend. Be yourself Rose005
Sociology itself plays a major role all across the world since the beginning of timme and will remain until the end of time , I do agree on several portion in the video one being that you have to look beyond the human being and that your up bringing could effect you but I also believe that you don’t have to be a ‘’product of your enviorment’’ so to speak for example you have indiviuals who have lived in proverty all their lives but decide not to be a statistics and go on to do amazing in life then you have people who are born with a “silver spoon” in their mouth and can go astray from their whole up bringing for example be addicted to drugs or even run a ponzi scheme, so when the video ask “ do indiviuals have the power to control their lives or our they constrained by societal forces” My answer is no your not constrained to societal forces and yes humans have the power to control their lives, and its up to that person to let society make or break you, so I do think sociologist have very valid points, but I also think life is what you make it. Leathas005
I agree with your point that you don’t have to be a product of your environment. I believe that in generations past that was mostly the case but now a days there is more resources and opportunity in the world for people in poverty to succeed in life. There is more opportunity to getting into colleges to further education. In turn the born with a silver spoon in their mouth have been giving everything their whole life and take everything for granted. They could end up getting caught up in their life style and don't worry about bettering their selves. That could lead them to the life of drugs or ponzi schemes like you mentioned. Cardinals005
Your experiences in life effect the way you act and live. Not just the way you have grown up, race, or social class effects this but also the media. I believe the media has a lot of power over people. They can manipulate the way sociality acts and thinks. Especially in this day in age where everything is more accessible and multiple ways of getting information. The media will put out what they want you to hear and see. People will take this and run with it. Creating their own theories and thoughts. If you aren’t out experiencing the real world and seeing everything the media puts out you will have a completely didn’t social believe then people who are out experiencing everything. The younger generation today has a lot more resources for information than in the past. I believe the media will have a bigger influence on this generation. From all the false articles or the option generated articles how does this generation start to decide what is true and what is false. Some wont have any issues because they would have experienced more in life then others but the ones with less experience will have to decipher for them self’s what’s right and wrong. Caridnals005
I think you mention a particularly interesting point with the upcoming generations and how their access to information and media material significantly quicker is having, and will have a and even larger effect on future generations. Personally, I find that this will lead to a better and more educated series of generations, though it will continue to be a potentially divisive tool used by different outlets for their own publicity. I can't condemn the dissemination of these opinion based articles, because I think it's important that we not only experience all the world has to offer, but widen our horizons to include the different types of people and their ideologies too! 35G005
Basically how you are or become is based on your environment. Which plays roll in the nature vs nurture debate...so things we might say or do are acted as upon society's pressure. But that just doesn't mean that we have to act upon society's pressure. We can design and create upon our own lives and make decisions which are deemed right. All in all there really is no correct path in the decision in which you choose to make. Basically how we may do things it's all trial and error and from our errors we learn from. Honeytea005
There’s a very interesting question posed at the end of the video. Here, we’re asked if individuals have the power of control over their lives, or if they’re constrained by societal forces. While doing my best not to sound like a conspiracist or warrant tin hats - I’m convinced we, as a collective, have little to no say over how we act as individuals. While I understand there are outliers, I find that we as a whole are prone - and almost forced through means of widely accepted social norms, to adapt and follow the notions of the majority of the population. This video references two primary schools of thought, one where the individual acts upon the whole, and vice versa whereas the whole acts upon the individual. I think it’s imperative to recognize that the proposed understandings are both inclusive of the other, as in regardless of which you choose to believe, the argument can be made they’re remarkably similar and reference various understandings from one another. I think we naturally are molded through interaction with the society around us, which places heavy emphasis on the societal norms we’re exposed to. While we’re predisposed to the methodologies of our parents and caregivers, I feel as if we as a society are far too integrated with one another to act as if the individual can influence the whole directly. That said over the course of time I think it’s important we understand the majority is actively being shaped by subtle occurrences involving the individuals over a period of time, and as a result we can see a reflective change in the coming generations. 35G005
As much as we like to think that we are unique individuals, we are placed within groups by society. We listen to the same music, eat the same food, wear the same clothing. Society defines us according to what type of person we are. For example, when a student gets placed into a classroom, they go in there as an unique individual but get placed into the class based on your learning abilities, your behavior, maybe even your race. This no longer makes you an individual that is unique and special, but as an individual now being placed in this group with individuals that could be the complete opposite from you, but having that ONE same thing, you are now the same. Everyone is the same, no matter how different you may think you are. Walking into a high school, you have the goths, the jocks, the "nerds", the cheerleaders, ect ect. Everyone is labeled into this certain group even when not wanted to. What is it in society that makes people deal with things differently? Look at the suicide rates, you'll be able to see that white people kill themselves more than the minority race. Why is that? What is it that makes somethings "normal" to one group of people, but not the other? Society does this, society shows us what make things "okay" and not okay. We live in this world. We're influenced by these norms, we live by these everyday. Go on Facebook and you'll see "relationship goals" WHY? Why is that we go based off what everyone is saying what we're supposed to do while in a relationship? We are no longer individuals. babybray005
"Do individuals have the power to control their life or are they constrained by society." I personally believe that individuals are always getting influenced by society rather they like to believe it or not. With this generation its all about who is wearing the new Jordons that are out or driving the best car or being updated to the constantly changing "slang". Many individuals believe that if they are not keeping up with these trends they are going to be looked at as the "outcast." Therefore society influences us more then we know. As children we tend to look at our parents and communities for an understanding of things. For example, those who grew up in a racist community are more prone to be racist. Its not that they truly are racist towards other ethnic groups or have a solid reason to be. They were just influenced by their community at a young age not to like certain people. The influences that society has on us can be good or bad. For example, many teens are taught that at the age of 16 you get a job. Is this because one day a !6 year old woke up and said most teenagers that are 16 has to have a job? No, many teens get a job because society expects it out of you. So yes many people may say you have the power to make your own decisions in life but when you actually take time to think about it how many of your decisions are influenced by society? Hawk005
I do agree with you that individuals are always getting influenced by society rather we all want to believe it or not. It is hard to believe most people are more concerned with material items rather than who they are as a person. Individuals do not have a personality anymore people want to be more like a famous person or want to be like someone they are not. I agree that teens get a job because it is expected. A lot of everyones decisions are influenced by society and other people, I agree. It is sad people want to be something that they are not when they are perfect just the way they are.
I believe that society has a major influence on the generations today. The magazines with the slim fit models, that are wearing bikinis, have a flat stomach, and have the perfect figure are making women of almost all ages want to look like that because that is the “ideal girl.” Then all the women start to lose their self-confidence and have MAJOR self-esteem issues because they want to look exactly like that model, so they start starving themselves to try and get the “perfect figure.” Society has changed the image for women for far too long. And then for the people who go to school might have friends because they do not have the shoes that just came out or wear the expensive clothing. You are your own person and can wear what you want. Society has changed the way people look at one another based on their appearance’s and not what is inside. Then they make fun of them due to what they have on, but you do not know what exactly in going on in their life or maybe they do not like the new “trend.” The generation today are considered followers, they follow what everyone else is doing instead of being themselves and standing out from everyone else. BE DIFFERENT! -Dance005
I agree with what you are saying. Within time, everything has changed greatly due to society and their norms. Once upon of time, Marilyn Monroe was the face of magazines, not being the skinniest. She had curves and she was chubby in some areas that maybe someone else wasn’t. Perfection didn’t matter as much in those times that it does today. Today, women are going through all types of processes such as surgeries for asset enhancements, facial ''corrections'', fat removing, just because they are trying to fit in with society and how they rather view things. And everyone may not even think the same way but in fear of being the one out casted and judged or made fun of, they participate onto doing the same to others. I completely agree with you. In todays' societies, there aren't many different ways of thinking, you pick a side and go from there. PurpleHearts005
I agree, I believe society paints there images of people because they are unhappy with themselves and in order to feel good they must make others feel they aren’t good enough. Instead of teaching people the standard of being “thin” or looking a certain way they should teach people how to embrace oneself. I think that if these magazines are selling fantasy, because no one is going to look that same and that is the problem they SHOULD be talking about empowerment and no matter what they should offer support this world is crazy enough with it crappy standards the least they could do is teach body positivity.MelaninQueen005
As someone who has evolved within modern times, I do agree that today’s generations are greatly influenced by one another. I also believe that this due to the alteration of parenting methodology. When saying this I mean that we find parents hovering over their children more nowadays than other years, like when my mother was a child herself. For example, we find parents babying their children, even as they get older. This can have a negative impact on children, because this then teaches the children to be more dependable on others throughout life, which is why I believe the new parenting methods of today’s society are negative. This can ultimately lead to the delay of children forming their own identity, which is why we find children conforming rather than standing out.
I believe the study of sociology is a very important and crucial thing to understand in our society today. I’ve always wondered why someone acts the way they do and how it affects society or why it even would affect the whole society. Humans have a lot of power throughout society and can change a point of view of one part of the society in seconds. I also believe that media coverage does have a huge impact on human’s thoughts on today’s society, either with the exaggeration of a situation or even the lack of details. When i’m on Facebook and I see videos of different situations occurring in our world, I always scroll the hundreds of comments just to get a glimpse of how it made some people think or look towards the situation. Most people views are so different from another, whether it’s a more crucial, mean comment or a gentle, understanding comment. I feel as if social forces has a huge aspect on one’s thoughts with these things and really impacts an individual’s thoughts. In the video, they stated how prisons have a uniform way of doing things and that schools and hospitals have adopted these ways as well. I remember as a child, always comparing school to a prison the way certain ordeals are handled or the way students have to do things in a certain ways. Not saying most of these things are bad, and school IS a prison but I do understand now that the uniformed ways are adopted from another area in society to help maintain some type of order. -Pizza005
I relate to this because I too read through comments on things I see on facebook and find myself thinking "this guy is an idiot" or sometimes agreeing with them. I just always wondered why they thought this way and I figured it had something to do with where they were from and how they were raised. I also can see how a prison and school are similar just for he fact of how some people get along in both areas and some do not. They tend to make their own group of "friends." It is interesting to sit back and really observe all the differences you see in a room full of people and how they interact. Gym005
In this video, we are introduced to sociology, which is defined as the study of human societies. the narrator, shares the views of different scientists who have studied sociology; the different types and causes of it. we have scientists who feel understanding the relationships between people and society, which also is the key task since the founding of sociology is important. we have another scientist who focuses on the deviations from norms and another on the social facts. one thing mentioned that really caught my attention was basically the statement that panic causes panic. In the video, it was asked what channels an individuals behavior. I believe that it all ties in with social norms, social class, a persons experiences , and basically who youre surrounded by. the people you are influenced by on a day to day basis start to shape your responses and views on things, how you start to think. If you like this style of clothing versus the other. If in a social class lets say middle class, you may not have liked to wake up everyday before 6 in the morning but you find it that all of your friends in the neighborhood are waking up at 4:30 in the morning for yoga class and now you are too. if you're living on the south end in poverty and all of your family members vote democratic, what political class is your president going to be in? Going back to 'panic creates panic', an example that i would like to use, our president elect Donald Trump. in my school, most of our students did not follow the presidential race. they didn't vote, watch the speeches, debates or even the inauguration. they don't know anything about what our president has done or said and they hate him and vice versa goes for Hilary Clinton. During the election, most of the world went into a panic. not because of their beliefs on the situation but based off of what they've heard about the situation. they've let their friends, family and acquaintances shape their mind into disliking someone that they know nothing about. To me, that's how sociology works, and how individuals behavior is channeled. By the influence of others and social norms on another persons actions and choices.PurpleHearts005
We may think we are unique in our communities. But maybe everyone is acting relatively the same way and we don't realize it. Does me going to the gym inspire others to go to the gym as well? Many things we do are seen by other people, they may see this as "cool" so they in turn may act the same way or do the same activities. Things that a lot of people in a society or community do is known as a norm. I notice that people in a class room tend to look for friends who are similar to them in ways such as likes and dislikes. What makes something a norm or how is something not many people do known as out of the norm. As mentioned in the video they said that over exaggerated media coverage makes citizens see things as much worse than they really are. I can see this making certain groups of people hate others without having any personal issues with them. In my opinion knowing some ideas about sociology can be important for many careers such as a police officer. It can help them better understand how and why people do what they do in a certain city. Gym005
At the very end of the video it states, “do individuals have the power to control their life or are they constrained by society?” We the definition of sociology is, the study of human societies. Sociology looks at the bigger picture of humans instead of just one individual person like in psychology. In a way I do believe that we have the power to control our life in any way we like. But it is the society we all live in today that makes it very difficult to control the life we want to live. We are all very much influenced by the media and the crooked ways of politics today. People are constrained because they don’t want to speak out to their friends or not go along with the “crowd”. Not going along with crowd makes you uncool or not popular. That is why I think most people feel they are unable to speak out or have their own opinion on a matter. For example, the women’s march that was on Jan. 21, 2017 was a very conflicted matter. Some women are not feminists but still marched for equal rights, men even participated in the march. There was riots, hate and violence during, what was supposed to be a peaceful march about women’s equality. But someone had to get offended, of course. Some people just did not care about the whole thing. Yes, it is hard to speak your opinion on variety of matters today. Many are very constrained by society. elephants005.
I believe our social interactions influence us. I was brought up Christian, and every Sunday we attended church no matter what the circumstances and I noticed that the people that interacted with each other were already placed into positions in the church. If you didn’t have an “important” position or you didn’t do the same thing as others, you weren’t important when it came to peer groups in the church. I didn’t start to step out the church until I was a junior in high school due to the fact that in my house until you were grown, you were going to go to church and believe the same way as my mom. I would stay at my cousins every Saturday to avoid going to church and I would study the bible at my cousin’s home instead of in church; studying the bible at my cousins home was better because I could connect with everyone in the house based off one thing we all have in common and that was The Word in front of us. How is it that I feel included at my cousins than at my church, when a church is suppose be the one place you don’t feel judged? As a progressed in my separate journey with my faith I posed a good question. Why do I believe the way I do? I believe in Christianity because I wasn’t given a choice, because my grandma brought my mom up as a Christian, my mom brought me up as Christian. Due to the fact that both my Grandma and mother both believed in Christianity means I must have follow in their footsteps right? Sociology is all about the choices you make, when do I get to decide for myself?MelaninQueen005
agree that our social interactions shape us and this is especially true in my own religious journey. I was raised Catholic and was baptized and confirmed, but by the time I was 10, I was questioning the teachings of the church. Around this time, YouTube was also becoming popular, so I used my resources and began to watch videos about science, Christianity, and especially atheism. What the people speaking about atheism said really made sense to me and after a year of research and deciding what I believed, I told my parents about the ideas I had come to believe in. Of course, it didn't go well because they were raised a different way, but they've come to terms with it and sociology has really affected the way I think about why I came to believe what I did. lasagna005
I totally agree with you 100% I myself was also brought up in a Christian home along with having uncles as pastors, so it was pretty much passed down to me like hey your Christian. Now that I'm older I still believe in Christianity and everything however I'm at the point where I don't go to church but I pray and i am a faithful believer, of course this is looked down on my family. They feel like you need to be in church every Sunday give this much percent of money and all the extra. it almost feels like in some situations you don't have a choice but to follow the lead of other people such as your family because they are biggest group of people who expect you to follow the traditions. and if you don't it becomes a problem. KYW005
I feel as if many adolescents are forced into a religion that they don’t agree with, I see it as a growing problem in our society that more often than not results in the child completely rebelling against the religion and not believing in it at all. The fact that you still follow your religion, but in a different method, is interesting because I personally haven’t seen that happen. Can you imagine living in a world where children are given the choice to think freely and not worry about what their parents want them to do? How would our world be different? Would there be as many religious-minded people? Puppies005
I am excited to be taking the sociology class. I am looking forward to learning about society and how it affects the decisions that we make. Growing up I have noticed society changing and very major ways. Politics are a big issue today and I think this semester will be full of discussions. Growing up I wasn't raised in a religious family, but in 6th grade I started attending catholic school where I was introduced to something completely different. I like to have an open mind and try new things, so learning about human behavior in society will really interest me. I love hearing others point of view and ideas on certain subjects. I think social media has a super negative impact on people today however it rally gives up great opportunities to see videos and articles from all over the world. Chi003
When one thinks for themselves, are they ever really thinking for themselves? The part of the video that peaked my interest was the section about norms and institutions regulating and influencing behavior in order to achieve a cohesive society. In our everyday lives, people aren't continuously cognizant of the outside influences on our thought process and behavior, regardless of the level of impact the outside influences have on our minds. Sociology aims to study these influences and their effects on human behavior. For example, the modern jail is a major institution that shapes our thinking about morals, punishment, and authority. If a person does something seen as morally wrong by society, they are sent to prison to serve their punishment. It is impossible to say for sure what would happen, but it could be reasonable to suggest that society’s view on so-called criminals would be altered if the institution of prison was set up differently or non-existent all together. Nevertheless, viewing society from a sociological point of view really brings up issues that aren't commonly discussed or even thought of. Sociology helps people to consider alternate reasons for their thinking, behavior, economic situation, or even the reason why they like the things they do. The video made me start questioning the influences that institutions and norms on the way I think about things. lasagna005
I am excited to be taking the sociology class. I am looking forward to learning about society and how it affects the decisions that we make. Growing up I have noticed society changing and very major ways. Politics are a big issue today and I think this semester will be full of discussions. Growing up I wasn't raised in a religious family, but in 6th grade I started attending catholic school where I was introduced to something completely different. I like to have an open mind and try new things, so learning about human behavior in society will really interest me. I love hearing others point of view and ideas on certain subjects. I think social media has a super negative impact on people today however it rally gives up great opportunities to see videos and articles from all over the world. Chi005
Before watching this video I’ve always thought about the questions asked such as do us as individuals have the power to control our lives, or are we constrained by other forces in our society. of course, we have the power to think for ourselves however I feel as if we me included just follow the rules of other people and go with the flow of things because we don’t want to look down at as being different or in my generation being called lame. A personal experience I have was with Marijuana use I was about 13 maybe older and I was peer pressured into smoking weed. Now I know that was wrong of course but because of my environment it was pretty much just passed down to me, I denied a couple of times saying no I’m good but then I knew the name calling was going to start such “lame” so I just went ahead and did it. The power is in our hands we control our destiny and our self however I do feel like society has such a tight influence of why we do what we do because like I mentioned earlier its can be out of fear of being called names or looked differently on. Another example is religion you grew up as a Christian all your life because of your surroundings and your home life. You didn’t have a choice but to go to church and follow the bible of course you’re not going to tell your mom NO I don’t want to go, so when you get older you might want to stray away from the norm and follow your own path and find life out for yourself and follow your OWN path! Be different and don’t care what people have to say about it. KYW005
I believe that the normal is what most people go by. We have learned behavior do to where and when we are brought up. I really don't think the teachings of different cultures are incorrect but do to the different places, religions, race people tend to disagree with the way others think. But is their really a wrong way? I don't believe that if you're raised in a negative environment then you will become a criminal. There is a percentage that fall into that category however I think its up to self. The laws of the land has also deemed what is the right and wrong way to live and do things. I do believe society plays a major role on people thinking.I also like to call some of them generational curses. Some people are forced to carry on traditions do to their race. And some that are brought up like that usually find out that's only their norm and not the norm of the rest of the world. 12mc-005
During this video, there was one particular segment that stuck out to me, which happened to be the “power of knowledge”. This stuck out to me, because, as I have evolved, I’ve realized and witnessed how ignorance, biases, and foolery can be overcome with the power of knowledge. The power of knowledge acts an impactful influence when individuals generate their own feelings or emotions towards a certain subject, person, or group. For example, when children recognize others as homosexual, they can then begin to bully the individual. Bullying begins due to heterosexuality being the social and cultural norm for the majority of society. With the informing of sexual orientation and gender identification this then leads individuals to respond in different manners, which could potentially lead to unity. A prime example would be LGBTQ groups that have been implemented within high schools, and even in some middle schools. With LGBTQ organization comes support systems from across the spectrum that guide a group towards a certain goal with the assistance of some sort of knowledge. Another example of the power of knowledge would be the informing of racial and ethnic backgrounds, such as people believing members of Islamic faith are all apart of Al-Qaeda. With that being said, I then propose the question: Why continue to search for methods of which ignorance, biases, and foolery can be overcome when we have the answer right in front of our own eyes?
I agree with what you are saying, but I also disagree. I feel as though they aren't bullying the LGBTQ+ children because they are homosexual, I feel that they are taught by their elders that those who are homosexual are wrong and the way that they are teaching the children that is violent and causing them to act out towards each other. But the reason that they are influenced to do so is entirely because of the knowledge and power of their elders. But you made some really good points. lucy005
For starters, this video made me even more excited to learn more about sociology than before because it gave me a better outlook on what exactly the study is. I have always been a person to ask “why?” when someone acts a certain way. I am motivated to find other’s motives and attempt to understand the complexity of human behavior. The video mentioned “norms”—my question is, what is normal? In this society of diversity and open-mindedness, what is considered abnormal? Maybe these questions stem from the fact that I grew up in a very open-minded, judgmental-free home. I was raised to never judge anyone for any reason, and to be open to others’ views on religion, home life, etc. It is difficult for me to understand a conservative mindset; not because I have not been exposed to it, but because its completely opposite of what I am used to. I just genuinely don’t understand how, in this enormous and forever-expanding world that contains countless walks of life, how you could adapt and only try to understand just one. Hopefully this course will answer some (or all) of my questions I have for humanity. I am excited to study how all of us, as humans, intertwine with each other without even trying. Puppies005
I agree with your statement. it is hard to decide what the norm is when the community is so diverse. Another question is who decided what the norm is and why is that considered the norm. Many people have different ideas of what the norm can be considered to be and i think that this is one of the reasons why our country is so diverse. bball005
I agree that sociology plays a major role in everyone's everyday life. It shows us how interactions from people effect our everyday lives. Let's say you go to the store and purchase a large amount of cans for a can drive, and you drop them off at the local food pantry to show support. You're giving back and helping out those in need. Its a waterfall effect or paying it forward. You may be a firm believer in something but others might disagree. If you do the same things everyday and stick to a routine it might be hard to stray away from what you normally do. For example, after everyday of work you go home and watch tv or grade papers until 9 then you go to bed. You never stray from what you normally do, but then a coworker asks you to go out one night. You never cared what you looked like before but now you don't know what to wear or how to act. You're out of your comfort zone. Be in control of your life and give yourself a mixture of different "trends". You don't need to act different just because you're around new people be in control of you. rose005
To begin with I would like to point out the many similarities I see between Sociology and Psychology. With Psychology you are studying the patterns and behaviors of individuals and why exactly they think that way, where in Sociology you are doing the same thing basically, but on a much larger scale to the point of how an entire country thinks and acts as a whole. Though, in Sociology, it seems more of the study of “why” then “how”. A way of explaining the causes of Society and the outcomes it has on its’ people and vice versa. This chain reaction is called the butterfly effect which says that the wind off the wing beats of a butterfly will eventually accumulate into a hurricane. For example an impoverished area might have a high crime rate due to people being desperate to find food or money. This in in turn can cause a bad generation of children to grow up under these circumstances causing the problem to grow to a point where the say the media gets a hold of the story and broadcasts it to the local area where everyone at home can see it. Soon enough the people in the surrounding area begin to believe that if someone is poor they are more likely to do something more dramatic and dangerous to change their financial status. But of course this all hinges on the element of choice. Each person has the choice to choose what and what not to believe and who will control their life. No person is tied to fate of Society unless the create the bonds themselves. D.C.Bade005
Sociology or what is considered sociology shows up in peoples lives on a daily basis. Interacting with people on daily basis is always going to be part of sociology and what are considered norms are a part of sociology too. Our country and world is so diverse that many different people have a different aspect on what is considered the "norm." Acting who you are wherever you are is also a part of sociology. Every where you go it is around. Interacting with people and even what we do on a daily basis all has to do with sociology which is what makes things so interesting and different. bball005
I believe your surroundings are what make you. We are all influenced by what we see and hear around us. This answers the question at the very end of the video, (do we have the power to control our lives or are we constrained by societal forces). Yes, we are constrained by society. What we see as “cool” or “hip” we do. What we see as “lame” or “weird” we tend to stay away from. But that doesn’t apply to everyone. Some can and do choose their own path and don’t care what the next person will say, but that is a rare thing. For example, growing up I didn’t love shoes as much as I do today for the simple fact that I didn’t care for them, they were just another thing to me. But as I grew older and shoes started to be “cool” and not having a wild amount of them wasn’t “hip” I seen myself coming to like them more. That was because what I seen. Seeing people boast and brag about having a rack of 20 pair of shoes in their house and a room full of shoes. That is what influenced me to want the shoes and to want more and more. I didn’t think for myself there, I just wanted to fit in and be “cool” Now look. I have a closet full. Dollar005
I believe that individuals do control their life in some ways and some ways they don’t. When you’re a child you really don’t have control over your own life. Your parents pretty much try to pick a lifestyle for you until you are gown enough to make your own decisions. Individuals control what they want, can’t and will do. We know right from wrong. It all falls back on the decisions you make as a person. The decisions you make impacts your life and future going ahead. Some individuals just like to blame other people or things for their failures. We only have control over ourselves. We don’t have control over others and what they do. What you want to be in life? It’s what you make out of life. What to have a good high paying job? Go to college and get a degree. Want to live an average life? Do what you got to do to make it work for whatever best fits you. However, there are some things that you just don’t have control over. For example, being born will a disorder. Did you choose that lifestyle? No, you were born that way neither nor did you have control over that. Aboogie005
I totally agree with every word you said. You pretty much can't control the things you do when your younger. Your parents will try and push you to your best. Me growing up I had strict parents who pushed me to do harder even though I didn't think that I could do. I made my own decisions by going down the right path and that's why I am where I am now. Make good decisions because you can go very far in life. When you have younger people that’s looking up to you that’s a very important thing to make sure you’re doing.Chick005
All individuals at some point control their life's. Except when your younger you can’t control some of the things you do. Once you’re older yes control your life, and you must make good decisions too. The world revolves around you and us. It’s our job to make it a better place. When your younger you do what, your surroundings do. You learn off that. That's why we as adults need to make better decisions in our life. We have the younger ones looking up to us. Making good decisions a good start, you now know what choices you want to make in life. When you have younger kids around you they look up to you and do what you do. That’s a very important thing you must be cautious about. You don’t want your kids to grow up making bad decisions you want them to grow up making good decisions. When you make the best of your decision you get far in life. If you make the worst of your decision you might not end up where you wanted to be. That’s why I think that all individuals can control their life. You make the decisions to do wat you do. Chick005
Many people come to the struggle of thinking they do not have a lot of control over their own life. How much is actually in our control and how much is completely out of our hands? Of course, a lot of your life will be decided by how you decide to to treat your own life. If you have a good attitude and put effort into school, it will be much easier to be successful in life than if you just slugged your way through life. Not everyone gets the opportunity of a good schooling though, and this is not in one's control. When you get past your teen age years you'll probably find yourself in bed thinking about how you could have handled previous experiences in life different then they actually did. When we were younger none of us had the same level of judgement we have today, so we can not reasonably expect to have made all the best decisions for ourselves. Sometimes it's easy to wish we had though. Things like, "I should have studied more, or I should have been nicer to someone", are things we can dwell on but we take these for granted. Many people don't have the luxury of wishing they studied more for their exam. Many people can't plan for their majors because they simply don't have the opportunity to. Do you have control over your own life? Yes. But you can't control all the factors that are involved in your life so you have to make do with what hand has been given to you. Acer005
In our modern society we are taught certain morals and values. Some people claim to follow these morals and values, but are lying sacks of crap. The people that are so whole heatedly believing that they are right that they will try to do terrible things to people that challenge their beliefs. These people are the reason internet trolls exist, ok. They abandon sociological values and morals to try to be right. I've seen people push their closest friends away from them doing this. I hope to know more by the semester ends. Paddle005
I've never really thought in depth about what leads to basic human actions nor situations. I understand the cause(s) between some things that we do I just choose not to think about. Sociology is the study of human societies, this explains the link between our actions and society. It's just as important to remember, however, that much of our actions are not influenced just by external stimuli, but also internal causes. A great example of this is our genetics, or our "Fight or Flight" response. These are factors that we cannot almost ever control, these responses have been in our genetic code for millions of years ago. This was to protect our bodies and to help us survive. In many cases our body can defend itself without our being aware. For example; Why do we get sick? When we get sick our body is attempting to protect itself from a virus or infection that it finds to be unnatural or possibly dangerous. We have no control whether or not we get sick, our body decides for us. These are only a few examples, there are many more. In conclusion while yes, there are many links between our actions, we must not forget biology's influence. 4D6178005
The mentioning of “power and knowledge are intimately linked” really stuck out to me. That is something I have thought about a lot in many different circumstances. A lot of the topics mentioned I have thought about. I never really expected simple mundane things to neccessarily have a meaning, but after hearing it and thinking about it it makes perfect sense for it to. I have never really thiought about suicide as a social act or that religon or ethnicity or gender could impact it in any way. I had always seen it simply as deeply mentally sick people looking for a way out. The study of what causes deviancy was really interesting to me. I have always been really curious about why certain things are deviant and why other things aren’t. And I also think it is kind of beautiful that it is different to everyone based on their experiences and where they live and all other internal and external factors. lucy005
To further on the question at the end of the video (do we have the power to control our lives or are we constrained by societal forces) personally, I believe the answer isn't one or the other, it's a mixture of both. At this point in my life it's basically common knowledge that people are going to do what the media says is "hip"- my generation could be called the generation of followers. But there has to be someone to set the "hip" trends. Without them there's nothing new to follow. How do people follow a new trend if no one is willing to step out and create it? In our own personally lives we have our own "tiny trends" that we set for ourselves. All of sophomore year I would make myself tea before school. Nobody taught me this or planted the idea in my head, I did it myself. In a really weird way to look at it, the answer is like an ice cream swirl. It's not chocolate, but it's not not chocolate; and it's not vanilla, but it's also not not vanilla. And you could take the chocolate out of the swirl and it still be ice cream, but it's not an ice cream swirl anymore- if that makes any sense. Also, on an unrelated note, I really loved the art design in the video. Spoopy005
ReplyDeleteI agree very much on the mixture of us controlling our lives and societal forces doing their part. I like the fact you mention "tiny trends". I'd call them more of a force of habit though something that you started in order to almost print yourself into your own identity due to either how you were raised and by the people around you. Just some simple little quirks of everyone could make a huge difference on the world. Food and beverage companies do this yearly they take random peoples ideas or ways the people prepare/use their products put a new sticker on them and make profit. Ever heard of Oreo thins? there a basic Oreo but they have less creme filling making them thinner...I know your mind is blown with amazement right now but that all started because thousands of people were alternating the cookie and the company liked the idea. Another great example is anything fried no matter where you go people fry different things mexico you have fried tortilla shells and in Iowa you can have a fried corn dog (definitely better than oreo thins). My little quirk is when i see something rusty i soak it in Coca Cola that stuff is so acidic it will eat the rust off anything. But with my many food related examples my point was that everyone's society is different California nobody is in a hurry yet across the country in New York the place is like an ant colony on energy drinks and over prices coffee. And I thought that your aspect of this video really toned down the complexity of the video making it easier to understand.
Delete-BikeMaker005
I think everyone would like to control their own lives but that comes with education, maturity and well thought out life decisions. Spoopy had two interesting statements: First, do people do what the media says? What would the sociological perspective be on the effect of media? Would Comte ask companies the number of viewers compared to sales after an ad was aired? Second statement, How would a sociologist evaluate a follower; by age group, gender, history? Are support people necessary to keep the world prospering? I find this all interesting to think about!! I like tea also!! grandma005
DeleteTechnically, if it is a mixture, then the answer is that we are in fact restrained by societal forces. It is kind of an all or nothing scenario. If we are at all influenced by societal forces, then we don't have absolute control over our lives independent of societies ebb and tide. This isn't a bad thing though. We human beings are creatures that evolved as pack animals. Society and all of its benefits would not be possible without the part of us that is inevitably influenced by societal standards from the get go, we would most likely not be nearly as advanced as we are today. In fact, we may not exist at all -- ours is a species that is reliant on community for survival. We have no exceptional physical features to help us survive. No claws, no fangs, no physical strength or speed to write home about, and no impressive defensive mechanisms. Really the only exceptional thing about humans physically is our long distance running ability. So thank god for our communal tendencies. This is my way of saying that our lack of perfect autonomy is a strength rather than a weakness, and you should allow it to produce feelings of community and belonging rather than despair or uneasiness. Poet005
DeleteWhen people see a new trend they have to have it just to fit in. What happened to people wanting to be themselves and trying new things that some people wouldn't normally try. I know some people are like that including me, i've strayed away from the person I used to be and wanted to fit in with everyone else. setting new trends is better than being a follower. Rose005
DeleteWe as people live on the aspect of what we are around, see, and hear do to the fact that it's all we know. People are very impressionable unless they are strong willed or if they have been around the block, or they know a few things, but there's not many. If a child grows up watching his mother and father go to work every day and make a living for their family than that child has a better chance of growing up and doing something with their life, because that's all he knows. Now on the other hand if a person grows up watching his father beat his mother then that person is more likely to grow up thinking it's alright to beat a woman. I feel it's true that we are a product of our environment. The world we live in is afraid to do our own thing, or maybe we just do know how so we feel have to follow what we have been taught or shown to do or what society say is right. Do we have to power to control our own life. I would say yes, but it's so easy not too. In reality we can control our own life not saying it will be easy but if a person really wants to take control of their own life I think they could. Cupcake005
ReplyDeleteI very much agree with what you're saying. People themselves have the overall decision on how their life turns out. All the decisions they make are on themselves. I also feel as people in this world are scared to go the other way and do their own thing. They could get ridiculed and thought of differently. No one wants to feel bad or thought bad of. So people follow the trends and what's popular to fit in. It's just the way the society is at this current time. How you grow up plays a big part and the role models you have. Nevertheless i feel at the end of the day the person as an individual can always choose what they want. Mustang005
DeletePeople's early life is a very impressionable age. Parent's mold their children into what they want them to become. Hopefully this is to have them become successful. Not every parent can raise their child in the exact way they want to tough, as they may not have the resources to do so. I also agree that people can break what they were molded to do so, but at an increased difficulty, It is always hard to create change in your own life, and even harder to adapt to it, but we as humans are able to adapt, as we always have. Acer005
DeleteGrowing up I was raised to be respectful of my elders, polite to others, and to treat others as I would like to be treated, yes, paraphrasing what we learned in church. Family has been re-defined, from the time when I was growing up. In my generation you were taught how to be a proper gentleman or lady, which I agree and disagree with, if this makes any sense. Society today seems to be more attuned to what is the "trend" or "phase" that the media reports for that moment. People are not afraid to speak their minds these days, possibly due to something they heard others speak about or what they saw on some form of media. We want to believe that as a society we know what is right and what is wrong, yet we still see violence, bigotry, hatred, and so much more. I agree that people are very impressionable, but why do we continue to allow these attrocities to happen? Families today are not the same as when I was a child, but it is still a family, if they love and respect each other and themselves. This generation's youth have a broader view of the world around them than I did when I was their age. I believe that who you are and how you act is developed by what experiences you will face or did face as you grew. Do we have the power to control our lives? Yes. Are we constrained by societal forces? That depends on what you expect of you. Are you someone who follows along just to be a part of the moment, or someone who believes they can make a difference? Seoulman005
ReplyDeleteThese are great words to live by, "Treat others as you would like to be treated." I agree with that statement 100% even though some people do become naive and don't agree with that statement. Families now a day don't seem like they are tight unit. It seems that some families, don't even sit around the dinner table with each other and talk and learn from each other. That one family member will be in the other room watching something on the TV. Phones will be out, and nobody will be paying attention to each other. But I do agree that families are families and that there is a lot of love still in those families. But they aren't like they used to be with technology and social media being on the rise.
DeleteThese are great words to live by, "Treat others as you would like to be treated." I agree with that statement 100% even though some people do become naive and don't agree with that statement. Families now a day don't seem like they are tight unit. It seems that some families, don't even sit around the dinner table with each other and talk and learn from each other. That one family member will be in the other room watching something on the TV. Phones will be out, and nobody will be paying attention to each other. But I do agree that families are families and that there is a lot of love still in those families. But they aren't like they used to be with technology and social media being on the rise. TB005
DeleteI totally agree with this. Everything is more trendy now a days and that is what everyone lives by. A lot of people believe in almost everything that gets posted to the media. But not everything you read or see in the media is true. You see people risking their lives and doing something stupid because of something they saw in the media. You also see teenagers committing suicide because of something that was posted to social media. What happened to respect for others? I was taught to always respect others know matter what. I will always stick to this approach. PAWW005
DeleteI do agree that we live in a world of constant bombardment from too much social media, news sources, and internet access, but it can’t be all we know. People are also very impressionable, but I do not think they have to be strong willed or older to make their own decisions. In our generation I also agree that we may have been more “follower” than trend setter, but we also didn’t have the access that this generation now has to the world and what is happening every second of every day. Children today seem to have a different concept of what is the correct way to act, not behave, but act in situations that are even more confusing than when we were that age. The definition of “family” has been re-defined in today’s society, but it is still a family if you love and respect each other. Being in control of one’s life is, at best, determined by who we are and how we act and react to situations. I agree that we do have the power to take control of our lives, and there will always be some struggle or conflict. But isn’t that what we call life?Seoulman005
ReplyDeleteI do agree with you that in this time we are more to follow then to be a trend setter but what about the people who do step out and become a trend setter? Those people are often bullied or ridiculed and then they go back to the norm and conform to what society holds out for them. Only a very few choose to stay a trend setter and continue to be one. The fact that people in this age have more resources and see in a different concept is true. Now a day’s people set the course of their life based of what we see and how we see it. We see struggle, some tend to live in struggle we see riches and some tend to reach for the riches. It is all what we make of it and how we see it.
DeleteDollar005
If feel like I'm on a roller coaster made with big words I don't truly understand and questions that these words make me wonder about. I've never really put much thought into this subject mainly due to the fact that I just didn't care or just didn't truly understand the reasons for other peoples actions. And to look back in my life and to think about did I ever do anything due to societal forces. I can honestly tell you yes I've changed so much for so many reasons. Wither it be for girlfriends, schools, work, the list is endless. In today's society there is so many trends and such a fast way to communicate across the world to show someone in Thailand what somebody was doing in Germany yesterday. It truly amazes me to see all these cultures from different parts of the world. And I feel like they all set their own social standards for living. For example your not going to Iraq if your a woman and not wear a hijab . Or go to an Amish community in your underwear and a pair of boots, they will look at you like your either the devil or your just plain crazy. But I feel like the internet and all this technology we have at our disposal brought the world closer. If you wanna see whats going on in the North pole there's these awesome scientist up there that will video chat you what they're doing! But I also feel like the technology we have is distracting us from whats in front of you. Ya Carl, that's real cool that you just remote controlled a drone into a tree with your iPhone but while you were doing that your kid just swallowed a tube of glue. Now that being the most humorist situation. I wonder now how people can create groups or subcultures in today's society due to the fact that there are so many different types of people in this country let alone this world. We are all different people with the same amount of needs yet we differ on how we achieve these needs wither it be through violence or by quite simply asking for something. I wanna know all the things that can affect a single person into making the decisions.
ReplyDelete-BikeMaker005
I definitely agree with you on so many levels. Truly I have put a lot of thought into the subject, but I have come to terms with myself that I no longer care about the matter because I feel that it's truly not meant to understand the reasons for other peoples actions. I feel that there is no way that we can understand everybody. All our minds are different and that what makes the world go round good or mad. I'm not prefect at all I've did some things in my life that I would have not went though with now that I look back on my life. I feel that technology has changed this world so much, there is a lot of great things about it as well as bad things the list will never end it's just how a person looks at the situation. Cupcake005
DeleteI was born and raised catholic went to church every Sunday and holidays, I even went to bible study every Wednesday nights. I was baptized, had my first communion, and when I was at the proper age I was confirmed. Everyone in my family was doing it I just wanted to keep stepping up in the ranks of the church and be more like the adults. My father was not born catholic he joined the church after meeting my mother. Why did he have to join the church in order to be with her? Why is it now that the only time I step in a church is either for a funeral or a wedding? How come I am ok with my wife and kids who are not catholic establish their own belief`s? I became educated in which made me a free thinker to study my own life and the events to where I am now that if I was to put myself in a religion It would be my own. So why did I go from being a devoted catholic to disregarding the bible. Quite simple no one is going to tell me what to believe in not even a book that has been passed through and written by many people. How many people have read the gospel of Mary? Slim to none as she is not a man and her story was never put in the bible. Now would I have done so much studying if I hadn’t been so devoted in my youth or even writing this response only on one aspect of sociology if religion wasn’t such a big part of my life? You may think you have free choice that you make your own decisions but why did you have to make the decision in the first place. All decisions that someone makes has been implanted in their brain sometime throughout their life in order to be coursed into having or wanting to make a decision. If you didn’t hear about the new medical studies would you have even thought about being more health conscious? If you want something than something was put in your head to even think if want it or not. Just because you think does not make you a free thinker, there is a reason why you are thinking in the first place. BHL005
ReplyDeleteThe Gospel of Mary....Very interesting. Most are unaware. You make many valid and interesting points. Social forces do contribute to our behavior and the regulation of it!!! SimplyMe005
ReplyDeleteIn my house, I was raised to always apologize if I made a mistake or have hurting someone. To hold the door for people who are walking by, and if they don't say, "Thank you" don't say anything to them. Just mind your own business and continue with whatever you were doing. I was raised to treat women with respect, to never raise my voice to any woman or adult. There are many places in the world, where these rules are not followed. I know in different regions of the United States, people will give you attitude just for the smallest thing, like not holding the door open for that person. There are many places out in the eastern hemisphere of Earth where women are not giving equal rights or they are made to be slaves. But the question I have is, is it nature or nurture? Were some people who give other people attitude for the smallest things not raised correctly? Or is that how they learned from looking around and that happening to them? Same with women in other parts of the world, where they born into that position? Or did they mess up in life and got into that position? There are many things to think about when looking at someone's actions or even getting into a conflict with someone. What kind of life did they or even you as an individual live? TB005
ReplyDeleteI was raised the same way, you must give respect in order to get some in return, that is why you follow the golden rule: treat others the way you want to be treated. To answer your question about it being nature or nurture. I would say it is a little bit of both. There are people out there who were not raised to treat others with respect, it could go back for generations. But then it could also be that those people are following what they learn in outside world. Or they are looking up to someone they admire and are just following in their footsteps. I believe that it is in some ways both. -Dance005
DeleteIn my life I have never really looked at how someone acts and wondered what that meant from a sociological aspect. We live in a society today where I believe most people are all about their public figure. Or in other words, what does every one say or think about you when they see you? I’ll admit, I’m that person. I’m not overly proud of it either. Society never used to be that way. You see more trends now than ever before and people just want to fit in with everyone else. Sometimes that can take away the basic things in life that we learn, like manners, respect, responsibility, etc. With the new upgrades in technology, I believe that makes people more lazy. You see a big difference now then about 10 years ago. I hear a lot of adults say “when I was your age we didn't have fancy calculators and iPhones to do our job for us.” in a lot of ways technology has helped us in life and made our lives easier, but what happened to figuring things out on your own? That comes with responsibility. I wish I could go back in time and see what society was like 20-30 years ago, because I bet it was a whole lot different. PAWW005
ReplyDeleteThrough the study of sociology, and knowing that we as humans are capable of controlling our own lives is a very exciting thing to known. I also never knew that there were people who actually really studied the general theory of action. But by knowing these things it makes me feel a little better about life, and just knowing that we as humans are capable of changing the way we view life itself puts a little ease to everything. And though we are all different,through individuals we are capable of changing lives of others. It is possible to study lives of individuals, and I feel that with these studies there could be a lot of things that we can fix and change in todays society. But yes I feel 100% that people are capable of controlling their own lives, but they are only constrained by society by so much, but If you are able to understand the true study of study of sociology, controlling your own life should not be a problem. I look forward to this class and looking more and more deeper into the study of the mind of different people and how they all think,and also learn how much we are all alike. Annie2016
ReplyDeleteWhy spend our time questioning and studying human society as sociologists want us to? Perhaps the knowledge will help us make wiser life decisions and become active participants on the stage of life and observe as sociologists. A better person does affect those around them and statistics change as Sociologists evaluate.
ReplyDeleteLooking back, my family was greatly affected by WW 11 when my father returned to his wife and baby girl. Because he was born in the U.S., a higher income country. he was able to by an affordable GI home and use the GI Bill to complete a college law degree and we went from love income to comfortable income. So the ware and US Govt. gave him the opportunity to succeed and he chose to take advantage of the circumstances. At the same time society said a good mother stayed home, raised the children, cooked and kept a clean house. Few woman has careers and the accepted jobs for women were nurse, teacher or secretary. A man was the wage earner, cut the grass and took care of the car. Then at 16 my parents divorced and my life really changed along with my younger brother and sister to being a single parent family living with my aunt and uncle until my mother could find a job that would support all of us because good jobs for women were scarce. When I graduated fromhigh school there was no money for college and my mother asked me not to go to work and take care of my brother and sister when she was a work. A year later I decided to start a life of my own, get married, buy a home and have children because that is what girls my age did (according to society). After raising 3 capable, kind sons that I am proud of, I divorced and have lived the last 25 years single and happy. How would the sociologists evaluate a grandma going to school at 73??? grandma005
I feel as people can make their own choices in life. The social part of the world has some big influences though. People like to follow trends and do what's popular at the time. Everyone wants to fit in at no matter what age. Some people are afraid to stand up and go the opposite way. The reason i feel that is, is because of the society we live in today. I'm not sure what it was like in the past, but i know the world we live in today. Nobody wants to be that odd one out. Anyone and everyone wants to fit in. Not only will the social media aspect of life influence you, but also how you were grown up. Your parents can influence on how they raised you or really anything you saw. I myself was not raised with the best role model of a father but, he made me who i am today. As i watched him over time i realized that's exactly who i don't want to be. Im making myself a better person than he was. Who knows how i would act or what i would be doing at this very moment if i wasn't around him. Everything you're around can influence you, but i feel you can always make your life decisions on your own. Mustang005
ReplyDeleteI agree of course we make our own choices in life but people have gone to far in trying to be with the "it crowd" rather it's a pre teen dealing with issue at school such as bullying or even teens dealing with the pressure in society to be the best dressed in high school,have sex or do drugs or even young parents out here trying to give their kids everything just to say they got their kids everything society and social media has made just about everything and competition and it's for all the wrong reasons. Leathas005
DeleteI have always seen the world from a sociological perspective, even before I knew what the word sociology meant. It has always felt natural for me to view the human world on every level from the global scene down to individual action as a complex series of reactions playing off of each other. It reminds me of that gimmicky game known as "telephone" in which one person whispers a single word or phrase to the person next to them, and then that person does the same, and this is repeated over and over until the final person says out loud what he thinks the original phrasing was, and it turns out to be something grossly different. Individual action can often seem so random and disconnected from local and orbital context that it seems exceptional and singular. The truth however, is that there are just too many filters between the action and the influence to easily see the connection -- though it is there. That being said, I think a basic understanding of sociology puts certain kinds of people in a position to despair a bit at how seemingly inconsequential their individual will is in the grand scheme of things. It can make one feel as though one's individuality is more of a factory setting rather than a genuinely identifying and exclusive state of being. As a cognitive therapist would tell you though, the way you think of things is just as important as what you think of. It is probably true that you and I are factory settings, but it is important to note that the factory in question is capable of storing an infinite number of those settings, and as a result we really are still unique. Poet005
ReplyDeleteMost people including me (in the past) , rely on food or other necessities for comfort and tend to over eat to fill the void. .A Lot of people go with what is new and stray from what they used to do. Some may rely on others because they don't have the self will to go workout or go eat healthy. They want to fit in with everyone else but yet when they do they don't feel any better about themselves because in reality is it what they really want? Towns that have more fast food places rather than markets tend to also have more obese individual. The way we look at food is also a factor. In most cases people would rather choose a Big Mac over a salad because of the advertisement or price, but in reality fast food can become addictive if you use it to boost your mood. But in other cases you see that your friends have fast food on their snapchat story and now you have the urge to get some yourself. You wouldn't have came up with idea if it didn't get put in your head. You have to make your own decisions and stop relying on others to take control. If you want to go workout for three hours but your friends or family don't, dont let it stop you from doing what you want. Everyone now a days worries about how they look or how they prow around. For example, If you were to see a limited edition pink collection and it was almost sold out, never to come out again, would you jump on the bandwagon to try to fit in? You don't have to have the best clothes to set a trend. Be yourself.
ReplyDeleteMost people including me (in the past) , rely on food or other necessities for comfort and tend to over eat to fill the void. .A Lot of people go with what is new and stray from what they used to do. Some may rely on others because they don't have the self will to go workout or go eat healthy. They want to fit in with everyone else but yet when they do they don't feel any better about themselves because in reality is it what they really want? Towns that have more fast food places rather than markets tend to also have more obese individual. The way we look at food is also a factor. In most cases people would rather choose a Big Mac over a salad because of the advertisement or price, but in reality fast food can become addictive if you use it to boost your mood. But in other cases you see that your friends have fast food on their snapchat story and now you have the urge to get some yourself. You wouldn't have came up with idea if it didn't get put in your head. You have to make your own decisions and stop relying on others to take control. If you want to go workout for three hours but your friends or family don't, dont let it stop you from doing what you want. Everyone now a days worries about how they look or how they prow around. For example, If you were to see a limited edition pink collection and it was almost sold out, never to come out again, would you jump on the bandwagon to try to fit in? You don't have to have the best clothes to set a trend. Be yourself Rose005
DeleteSociology itself plays a major role all across the world since the beginning of timme and will remain until the end of time , I do agree on several portion in the video one being that you have to look beyond the human being and that your up bringing could effect you but I also believe that you don’t have to be a ‘’product of your enviorment’’ so to speak for example you have indiviuals who have lived in proverty all their lives but decide not to be a statistics and go on to do amazing in life then you have people who are born with a “silver spoon” in their mouth and can go astray from their whole up bringing for example be addicted to drugs or even run a ponzi scheme, so when the video ask “ do indiviuals have the power to control their lives or our they constrained by societal forces” My answer is no your not constrained to societal forces and yes humans have the power to control their lives, and its up to that person to let society make or break you, so I do think sociologist have very valid points, but I also think life is what you make it. Leathas005
ReplyDeleteI agree with your point that you don’t have to be a product of your environment. I believe that in generations past that was mostly the case but now a days there is more resources and opportunity in the world for people in poverty to succeed in life. There is more opportunity to getting into colleges to further education. In turn the born with a silver spoon in their mouth have been giving everything their whole life and take everything for granted. They could end up getting caught up in their life style and don't worry about bettering their selves. That could lead them to the life of drugs or ponzi schemes like you mentioned. Cardinals005
DeleteYour experiences in life effect the way you act and live. Not just the way you have grown up, race, or social class effects this but also the media. I believe the media has a lot of power over people. They can manipulate the way sociality acts and thinks. Especially in this day in age where everything is more accessible and multiple ways of getting information. The media will put out what they want you to hear and see. People will take this and run with it. Creating their own theories and thoughts. If you aren’t out experiencing the real world and seeing everything the media puts out you will have a completely didn’t social believe then people who are out experiencing everything. The younger generation today has a lot more resources for information than in the past. I believe the media will have a bigger influence on this generation. From all the false articles or the option generated articles how does this generation start to decide what is true and what is false. Some wont have any issues because they would have experienced more in life then others but the ones with less experience will have to decipher for them self’s what’s right and wrong. Caridnals005
ReplyDeleteI think you mention a particularly interesting point with the upcoming generations and how their access to information and media material significantly quicker is having, and will have a and even larger effect on future generations. Personally, I find that this will lead to a better and more educated series of generations, though it will continue to be a potentially divisive tool used by different outlets for their own publicity. I can't condemn the dissemination of these opinion based articles, because I think it's important that we not only experience all the world has to offer, but widen our horizons to include the different types of people and their ideologies too!
Delete35G005
Basically how you are or become is based on your environment. Which plays roll in the nature vs nurture debate...so things we might say or do are acted as upon society's pressure. But that just doesn't mean that we have to act upon society's pressure. We can design and create upon our own lives and make decisions which are deemed right. All in all there really is no correct path in the decision in which you choose to make. Basically how we may do things it's all trial and error and from our errors we learn from. Honeytea005
ReplyDeleteThere’s a very interesting question posed at the end of the video. Here, we’re asked if individuals have the power of control over their lives, or if they’re constrained by societal forces. While doing my best not to sound like a conspiracist or warrant tin hats - I’m convinced we, as a collective, have little to no say over how we act as individuals. While I understand there are outliers, I find that we as a whole are prone - and almost forced through means of widely accepted social norms, to adapt and follow the notions of the majority of the population. This video references two primary schools of thought, one where the individual acts upon the whole, and vice versa whereas the whole acts upon the individual. I think it’s imperative to recognize that the proposed understandings are both inclusive of the other, as in regardless of which you choose to believe, the argument can be made they’re remarkably similar and reference various understandings from one another. I think we naturally are molded through interaction with the society around us, which places heavy emphasis on the societal norms we’re exposed to. While we’re predisposed to the methodologies of our parents and caregivers, I feel as if we as a society are far too integrated with one another to act as if the individual can influence the whole directly. That said over the course of time I think it’s important we understand the majority is actively being shaped by subtle occurrences involving the individuals over a period of time, and as a result we can see a reflective change in the coming generations.
ReplyDelete35G005
As much as we like to think that we are unique individuals, we are placed within groups by society. We listen to the same music, eat the same food, wear the same clothing. Society defines us according to what type of person we are. For example, when a student gets placed into a classroom, they go in there as an unique individual but get placed into the class based on your learning abilities, your behavior, maybe even your race. This no longer makes you an individual that is unique and special, but as an individual now being placed in this group with individuals that could be the complete opposite from you, but having that ONE same thing, you are now the same. Everyone is the same, no matter how different you may think you are. Walking into a high school, you have the goths, the jocks, the "nerds", the cheerleaders, ect ect. Everyone is labeled into this certain group even when not wanted to. What is it in society that makes people deal with things differently? Look at the suicide rates, you'll be able to see that white people kill themselves more than the minority race. Why is that? What is it that makes somethings "normal" to one group of people, but not the other? Society does this, society shows us what make things "okay" and not okay. We live in this world. We're influenced by these norms, we live by these everyday. Go on Facebook and you'll see "relationship goals" WHY? Why is that we go based off what everyone is saying what we're supposed to do while in a relationship? We are no longer individuals. babybray005
ReplyDelete"Do individuals have the power to control their life or are they constrained by society." I personally believe that individuals are always getting influenced by society rather they like to believe it or not. With this generation its all about who is wearing the new Jordons that are out or driving the best car or being updated to the constantly changing "slang". Many individuals believe that if they are not keeping up with these trends they are going to be looked at as the "outcast." Therefore society influences us more then we know. As children we tend to look at our parents and communities for an understanding of things. For example, those who grew up in a racist community are more prone to be racist. Its not that they truly are racist towards other ethnic groups or have a solid reason to be. They were just influenced by their community at a young age not to like certain people. The influences that society has on us can be good or bad. For example, many teens are taught that at the age of 16 you get a job. Is this because one day a !6 year old woke up and said most teenagers that are 16 has to have a job? No, many teens get a job because society expects it out of you. So yes many people may say you have the power to make your own decisions in life but when you actually take time to think about it how many of your decisions are influenced by society? Hawk005
ReplyDeleteI do agree with you that individuals are always getting influenced by society rather we all want to believe it or not. It is hard to believe most people are more concerned with material items rather than who they are as a person. Individuals do not have a personality anymore people want to be more like a famous person or want to be like someone they are not. I agree that teens get a job because it is expected. A lot of everyones decisions are influenced by society and other people, I agree. It is sad people want to be something that they are not when they are perfect just the way they are.
DeleteI believe that society has a major influence on the generations today. The magazines with the slim fit models, that are wearing bikinis, have a flat stomach, and have the perfect figure are making women of almost all ages want to look like that because that is the “ideal girl.” Then all the women start to lose their self-confidence and have MAJOR self-esteem issues because they want to look exactly like that model, so they start starving themselves to try and get the “perfect figure.” Society has changed the image for women for far too long. And then for the people who go to school might have friends because they do not have the shoes that just came out or wear the expensive clothing. You are your own person and can wear what you want. Society has changed the way people look at one another based on their appearance’s and not what is inside. Then they make fun of them due to what they have on, but you do not know what exactly in going on in their life or maybe they do not like the new “trend.” The generation today are considered followers, they follow what everyone else is doing instead of being themselves and standing out from everyone else. BE DIFFERENT! -Dance005
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you are saying. Within time, everything has changed greatly due to society and their norms. Once upon of time, Marilyn Monroe was the face of magazines, not being the skinniest. She had curves and she was chubby in some areas that maybe someone else wasn’t. Perfection didn’t matter as much in those times that it does today. Today, women are going through all types of processes such as surgeries for asset enhancements, facial ''corrections'', fat removing, just because they are trying to fit in with society and how they rather view things. And everyone may not even think the same way but in fear of being the one out casted and judged or made fun of, they participate onto doing the same to others. I completely agree with you. In todays' societies, there aren't many different ways of thinking, you pick a side and go from there. PurpleHearts005
DeleteI agree, I believe society paints there images of people because they are unhappy with themselves and in order to feel good they must make others feel they aren’t good enough. Instead of teaching people the standard of being “thin” or looking a certain way they should teach people how to embrace oneself. I think that if these magazines are selling fantasy, because no one is going to look that same and that is the problem they SHOULD be talking about empowerment and no matter what they should offer support this world is crazy enough with it crappy standards the least they could do is teach body positivity.MelaninQueen005
DeleteAs someone who has evolved within modern times, I do agree that today’s generations are greatly influenced by one another. I also believe that this due to the alteration of parenting methodology. When saying this I mean that we find parents hovering over their children more nowadays than other years, like when my mother was a child herself. For example, we find parents babying their children, even as they get older. This can have a negative impact on children, because this then teaches the children to be more dependable on others throughout life, which is why I believe the new parenting methods of today’s society are negative. This can ultimately lead to the delay of children forming their own identity, which is why we find children conforming rather than standing out.
DeleteS&D005
I believe the study of sociology is a very important and crucial thing to understand in our society today. I’ve always wondered why someone acts the way they do and how it affects society or why it even would affect the whole society. Humans have a lot of power throughout society and can change a point of view of one part of the society in seconds. I also believe that media coverage does have a huge impact on human’s thoughts on today’s society, either with the exaggeration of a situation or even the lack of details. When i’m on Facebook and I see videos of different situations occurring in our world, I always scroll the hundreds of comments just to get a glimpse of how it made some people think or look towards the situation. Most people views are so different from another, whether it’s a more crucial, mean comment or a gentle, understanding comment. I feel as if social forces has a huge aspect on one’s thoughts with these things and really impacts an individual’s thoughts. In the video, they stated how prisons have a uniform way of doing things and that schools and hospitals have adopted these ways as well. I remember as a child, always comparing school to a prison the way certain ordeals are handled or the way students have to do things in a certain ways. Not saying most of these things are bad, and school IS a prison but I do understand now that the uniformed ways are adopted from another area in society to help maintain some type of order. -Pizza005
ReplyDeleteI relate to this because I too read through comments on things I see on facebook and find myself thinking "this guy is an idiot" or sometimes agreeing with them. I just always wondered why they thought this way and I figured it had something to do with where they were from and how they were raised. I also can see how a prison and school are similar just for he fact of how some people get along in both areas and some do not. They tend to make their own group of "friends." It is interesting to sit back and really observe all the differences you see in a room full of people and how they interact. Gym005
DeleteIn this video, we are introduced to sociology, which is defined as the study of human societies. the narrator, shares the views of different scientists who have studied sociology; the different types and causes of it. we have scientists who feel understanding the relationships between people and society, which also is the key task since the founding of sociology is important. we have another scientist who focuses on the deviations from norms and another on the social facts. one thing mentioned that really caught my attention was basically the statement that panic causes panic. In the video, it was asked what channels an individuals behavior. I believe that it all ties in with social norms, social class, a persons experiences , and basically who youre surrounded by. the people you are influenced by on a day to day basis start to shape your responses and views on things, how you start to think. If you like this style of clothing versus the other. If in a social class lets say middle class, you may not have liked to wake up everyday before 6 in the morning but you find it that all of your friends in the neighborhood are waking up at 4:30 in the morning for yoga class and now you are too. if you're living on the south end in poverty and all of your family members vote democratic, what political class is your president going to be in? Going back to 'panic creates panic', an example that i would like to use, our president elect Donald Trump. in my school, most of our students did not follow the presidential race. they didn't vote, watch the speeches, debates or even the inauguration. they don't know anything about what our president has done or said and they hate him and vice versa goes for Hilary Clinton. During the election, most of the world went into a panic. not because of their beliefs on the situation but based off of what they've heard about the situation. they've let their friends, family and acquaintances shape their mind into disliking someone that they know nothing about. To me, that's how sociology works, and how individuals behavior is channeled. By the influence of others and social norms on another persons actions and choices.PurpleHearts005
ReplyDeleteWe may think we are unique in our communities. But maybe everyone is acting relatively the same way and we don't realize it. Does me going to the gym inspire others to go to the gym as well? Many things we do are seen by other people, they may see this as "cool" so they in turn may act the same way or do the same activities. Things that a lot of people in a society or community do is known as a norm. I notice that people in a class room tend to look for friends who are similar to them in ways such as likes and dislikes. What makes something a norm or how is something not many people do known as out of the norm. As mentioned in the video they said that over exaggerated media coverage makes citizens see things as much worse than they really are. I can see this making certain groups of people hate others without having any personal issues with them. In my opinion knowing some ideas about sociology can be important for many careers such as a police officer. It can help them better understand how and why people do what they do in a certain city. Gym005
ReplyDeleteAt the very end of the video it states, “do individuals have the power to control their life or are they constrained by society?” We the definition of sociology is, the study of human societies. Sociology looks at the bigger picture of humans instead of just one individual person like in psychology. In a way I do believe that we have the power to control our life in any way we like. But it is the society we all live in today that makes it very difficult to control the life we want to live. We are all very much influenced by the media and the crooked ways of politics today. People are constrained because they don’t want to speak out to their friends or not go along with the “crowd”. Not going along with crowd makes you uncool or not popular. That is why I think most people feel they are unable to speak out or have their own opinion on a matter. For example, the women’s march that was on Jan. 21, 2017 was a very conflicted matter. Some women are not feminists but still marched for equal rights, men even participated in the march. There was riots, hate and violence during, what was supposed to be a peaceful march about women’s equality. But someone had to get offended, of course. Some people just did not care about the whole thing. Yes, it is hard to speak your opinion on variety of matters today. Many are very constrained by society. elephants005.
ReplyDeleteI believe our social interactions influence us. I was brought up Christian, and every Sunday we attended church no matter what the circumstances and I noticed that the people that interacted with each other were already placed into positions in the church. If you didn’t have an “important” position or you didn’t do the same thing as others, you weren’t important when it came to peer groups in the church. I didn’t start to step out the church until I was a junior in high school due to the fact that in my house until you were grown, you were going to go to church and believe the same way as my mom. I would stay at my cousins every Saturday to avoid going to church and I would study the bible at my cousin’s home instead of in church; studying the bible at my cousins home was better because I could connect with everyone in the house based off one thing we all have in common and that was The Word in front of us. How is it that I feel included at my cousins than at my church, when a church is suppose be the one place you don’t feel judged? As a progressed in my separate journey with my faith I posed a good question. Why do I believe the way I do? I believe in Christianity because I wasn’t given a choice, because my grandma brought my mom up as a Christian, my mom brought me up as Christian. Due to the fact that both my Grandma and mother both believed in Christianity means I must have follow in their footsteps right? Sociology is all about the choices you make, when do I get to decide for myself?MelaninQueen005
ReplyDeleteagree that our social interactions shape us and this is especially true in my own religious journey. I was raised Catholic and was baptized and confirmed, but by the time I was 10, I was questioning the teachings of the church. Around this time, YouTube was also becoming popular, so I used my resources and began to watch videos about science, Christianity, and especially atheism. What the people speaking about atheism said really made sense to me and after a year of research and deciding what I believed, I told my parents about the ideas I had come to believe in. Of course, it didn't go well because they were raised a different way, but they've come to terms with it and sociology has really affected the way I think about why I came to believe what I did. lasagna005
DeleteI totally agree with you 100% I myself was also brought up in a Christian home along with having uncles as pastors, so it was pretty much passed down to me like hey your Christian. Now that I'm older I still believe in Christianity and everything however I'm at the point where I don't go to church but I pray and i am a faithful believer, of course this is looked down on my family. They feel like you need to be in church every Sunday give this much percent of money and all the extra. it almost feels like in some situations you don't have a choice but to follow the lead of other people such as your family because they are biggest group of people who expect you to follow the traditions. and if you don't it becomes a problem.
DeleteKYW005
I feel as if many adolescents are forced into a religion that they don’t agree with, I see it as a growing problem in our society that more often than not results in the child completely rebelling against the religion and not believing in it at all. The fact that you still follow your religion, but in a different method, is interesting because I personally haven’t seen that happen. Can you imagine living in a world where children are given the choice to think freely and not worry about what their parents want them to do? How would our world be different? Would there be as many religious-minded people? Puppies005
DeleteI am excited to be taking the sociology class. I am looking forward to learning about society and how it affects the decisions that we make. Growing up I have noticed society changing and very major ways. Politics are a big issue today and I think this semester will be full of discussions. Growing up I wasn't raised in a religious family, but in 6th grade I started attending catholic school where I was introduced to something completely different. I like to have an open mind and try new things, so learning about human behavior in society will really interest me. I love hearing others point of view and ideas on certain subjects. I think social media has a super negative impact on people today however it rally gives up great opportunities to see videos and articles from all over the world. Chi003
ReplyDeleteWhen one thinks for themselves, are they ever really thinking for themselves? The part of the video that peaked my interest was the section about norms and institutions regulating and influencing behavior in order to achieve a cohesive society. In our everyday lives, people aren't continuously cognizant of the outside influences on our thought process and behavior, regardless of the level of impact the outside influences have on our minds. Sociology aims to study these influences and their effects on human behavior. For example, the modern jail is a major institution that shapes our thinking about morals, punishment, and authority. If a person does something seen as morally wrong by society, they are sent to prison to serve their punishment. It is impossible to say for sure what would happen, but it could be reasonable to suggest that society’s view on so-called criminals would be altered if the institution of prison was set up differently or non-existent all together. Nevertheless, viewing society from a sociological point of view really brings up issues that aren't commonly discussed or even thought of. Sociology helps people to consider alternate reasons for their thinking, behavior, economic situation, or even the reason why they like the things they do. The video made me start questioning the influences that institutions and norms on the way I think about things. lasagna005
ReplyDeleteI am excited to be taking the sociology class. I am looking forward to learning about society and how it affects the decisions that we make. Growing up I have noticed society changing and very major ways. Politics are a big issue today and I think this semester will be full of discussions. Growing up I wasn't raised in a religious family, but in 6th grade I started attending catholic school where I was introduced to something completely different. I like to have an open mind and try new things, so learning about human behavior in society will really interest me. I love hearing others point of view and ideas on certain subjects. I think social media has a super negative impact on people today however it rally gives up great opportunities to see videos and articles from all over the world. Chi005
ReplyDeleteBefore watching this video I’ve always thought about the questions asked such as do us as individuals have the power to control our lives, or are we constrained by other forces in our society. of course, we have the power to think for ourselves however I feel as if we me included just follow the rules of other people and go with the flow of things because we don’t want to look down at as being different or in my generation being called lame. A personal experience I have was with Marijuana use I was about 13 maybe older and I was peer pressured into smoking weed. Now I know that was wrong of course but because of my environment it was pretty much just passed down to me, I denied a couple of times saying no I’m good but then I knew the name calling was going to start such “lame” so I just went ahead and did it. The power is in our hands we control our destiny and our self however I do feel like society has such a tight influence of why we do what we do because like I mentioned earlier its can be out of fear of being called names or looked differently on. Another example is religion you grew up as a Christian all your life because of your surroundings and your home life. You didn’t have a choice but to go to church and follow the bible of course you’re not going to tell your mom NO I don’t want to go, so when you get older you might want to stray away from the norm and follow your own path and find life out for yourself and follow your OWN path! Be different and don’t care what people have to say about it. KYW005
ReplyDeleteI believe that the normal is what most people go by. We have learned behavior do to where and when we are brought up. I really don't think the teachings of different cultures are incorrect but do to the different places, religions, race people tend to disagree with the way others think. But is their really a wrong way? I don't believe that if you're raised in a negative environment then you will become a criminal. There is a percentage that fall into that category however I think its up to self. The laws of the land has also deemed what is the right and wrong way to live and do things. I do believe society plays a major role on people thinking.I also like to call some of them generational curses. Some people are forced to carry on traditions do to their race. And some that are brought up like that usually find out that's only their norm and not the norm of the rest of the world. 12mc-005
ReplyDeleteDuring this video, there was one particular segment that stuck out to me, which happened to be the “power of knowledge”. This stuck out to me, because, as I have evolved, I’ve realized and witnessed how ignorance, biases, and foolery can be overcome with the power of knowledge. The power of knowledge acts an impactful influence when individuals generate their own feelings or emotions towards a certain subject, person, or group. For example, when children recognize others as homosexual, they can then begin to bully the individual. Bullying begins due to heterosexuality being the social and cultural norm for the majority of society. With the informing of sexual orientation and gender identification this then leads individuals to respond in different manners, which could potentially lead to unity. A prime example would be LGBTQ groups that have been implemented within high schools, and even in some middle schools. With LGBTQ organization comes support systems from across the spectrum that guide a group towards a certain goal with the assistance of some sort of knowledge. Another example of the power of knowledge would be the informing of racial and ethnic backgrounds, such as people believing members of Islamic faith are all apart of Al-Qaeda. With that being said, I then propose the question: Why continue to search for methods of which ignorance, biases, and foolery can be overcome when we have the answer right in front of our own eyes?
ReplyDeleteS&D005
I agree with what you are saying, but I also disagree. I feel as though they aren't bullying the LGBTQ+ children because they are homosexual, I feel that they are taught by their elders that those who are homosexual are wrong and the way that they are teaching the children that is violent and causing them to act out towards each other. But the reason that they are influenced to do so is entirely because of the knowledge and power of their elders. But you made some really good points. lucy005
DeleteFor starters, this video made me even more excited to learn more about sociology than before because it gave me a better outlook on what exactly the study is. I have always been a person to ask “why?” when someone acts a certain way. I am motivated to find other’s motives and attempt to understand the complexity of human behavior. The video mentioned “norms”—my question is, what is normal? In this society of diversity and open-mindedness, what is considered abnormal? Maybe these questions stem from the fact that I grew up in a very open-minded, judgmental-free home. I was raised to never judge anyone for any reason, and to be open to others’ views on religion, home life, etc. It is difficult for me to understand a conservative mindset; not because I have not been exposed to it, but because its completely opposite of what I am used to. I just genuinely don’t understand how, in this enormous and forever-expanding world that contains countless walks of life, how you could adapt and only try to understand just one. Hopefully this course will answer some (or all) of my questions I have for humanity. I am excited to study how all of us, as humans, intertwine with each other without even trying. Puppies005
ReplyDeleteI agree with your statement. it is hard to decide what the norm is when the community is so diverse. Another question is who decided what the norm is and why is that considered the norm. Many people have different ideas of what the norm can be considered to be and i think that this is one of the reasons why our country is so diverse. bball005
DeleteI agree that sociology plays a major role in everyone's everyday life. It shows us how interactions from people effect our everyday lives. Let's say you go to the store and purchase a large amount of cans for a can drive, and you drop them off at the local food pantry to show support. You're giving back and helping out those in need. Its a waterfall effect or paying it forward. You may be a firm believer in something but others might disagree. If you do the same things everyday and stick to a routine it might be hard to stray away from what you normally do. For example, after everyday of work you go home and watch tv or grade papers until 9 then you go to bed. You never stray from what you normally do, but then a coworker asks you to go out one night. You never cared what you looked like before but now you don't know what to wear or how to act. You're out of your comfort zone. Be in control of your life and give yourself a mixture of different "trends". You don't need to act different just because you're around new people be in control of you. rose005
ReplyDeleteTo begin with I would like to point out the many similarities I see between Sociology and Psychology. With Psychology you are studying the patterns and behaviors of individuals and why exactly they think that way, where in Sociology you are doing the same thing basically, but on a much larger scale to the point of how an entire country thinks and acts as a whole. Though, in Sociology, it seems more of the study of “why” then “how”. A way of explaining the causes of Society and the outcomes it has on its’ people and vice versa. This chain reaction is called the butterfly effect which says that the wind off the wing beats of a butterfly will eventually accumulate into a hurricane. For example an impoverished area might have a high crime rate due to people being desperate to find food or money. This in in turn can cause a bad generation of children to grow up under these circumstances causing the problem to grow to a point where the say the media gets a hold of the story and broadcasts it to the local area where everyone at home can see it. Soon enough the people in the surrounding area begin to believe that if someone is poor they are more likely to do something more dramatic and dangerous to change their financial status. But of course this all hinges on the element of choice. Each person has the choice to choose what and what not to believe and who will control their life. No person is tied to fate of Society unless the create the bonds themselves. D.C.Bade005
ReplyDeleteSociology or what is considered sociology shows up in peoples lives on a daily basis. Interacting with people on daily basis is always going to be part of sociology and what are considered norms are a part of sociology too. Our country and world is so diverse that many different people have a different aspect on what is considered the "norm." Acting who you are wherever you are is also a part of sociology. Every where you go it is around. Interacting with people and even what we do on a daily basis all has to do with sociology which is what makes things so interesting and different. bball005
ReplyDeleteI believe your surroundings are what make you. We are all influenced by what we see and hear around us. This answers the question at the very end of the video, (do we have the power to control our lives or are we constrained by societal forces). Yes, we are constrained by society. What we see as “cool” or “hip” we do. What we see as “lame” or “weird” we tend to stay away from. But that doesn’t apply to everyone. Some can and do choose their own path and don’t care what the next person will say, but that is a rare thing. For example, growing up I didn’t love shoes as much as I do today for the simple fact that I didn’t care for them, they were just another thing to me. But as I grew older and shoes started to be “cool” and not having a wild amount of them wasn’t “hip” I seen myself coming to like them more. That was because what I seen. Seeing people boast and brag about having a rack of 20 pair of shoes in their house and a room full of shoes. That is what influenced me to want the shoes and to want more and more. I didn’t think for myself there, I just wanted to fit in and be “cool” Now look. I have a closet full.
ReplyDeleteDollar005
I believe that individuals do control their life in some ways and some ways they don’t. When you’re a child you really don’t have control over your own life. Your parents pretty much try to pick a lifestyle for you until you are gown enough to make your own decisions. Individuals control what they want, can’t and will do. We know right from wrong. It all falls back on the decisions you make as a person. The decisions you make impacts your life and future going ahead. Some individuals just like to blame other people or things for their failures. We only have control over ourselves. We don’t have control over others and what they do. What you want to be in life? It’s what you make out of life. What to have a good high paying job? Go to college and get a degree. Want to live an average life? Do what you got to do to make it work for whatever best fits you. However, there are some things that you just don’t have control over. For example, being born will a disorder. Did you choose that lifestyle? No, you were born that way neither nor did you have control over that. Aboogie005
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteI totally agree with every word you said. You pretty much can't control the things you do when your younger. Your parents will try and push you to your best. Me growing up I had strict parents who pushed me to do harder even though I didn't think that I could do. I made my own decisions by going down the right path and that's why I am where I am now. Make good decisions because you can go very far in life. When you have younger people that’s looking up to you that’s a very important thing to make sure you’re doing.Chick005
DeleteAll individuals at some point control their life's. Except when your younger you can’t control some of the things you do. Once you’re older yes control your life, and you must make good decisions too. The world revolves around you and us. It’s our job to make it a better place. When your younger you do what, your surroundings do. You learn off that. That's why we as adults need to make better decisions in our life. We have the younger ones looking up to us. Making good decisions a good start, you now know what choices you want to make in life. When you have younger kids around you they look up to you and do what you do. That’s a very important thing you must be cautious about. You don’t want your kids to grow up making bad decisions you want them to grow up making good decisions. When you make the best of your decision you get far in life. If you make the worst of your decision you might not end up where you wanted to be. That’s why I think that all individuals can control their life. You make the decisions to do wat you do. Chick005
ReplyDeleteMany people come to the struggle of thinking they do not have a lot of control over their own life. How much is actually in our control and how much is completely out of our hands? Of course, a lot of your life will be decided by how you decide to to treat your own life. If you have a good attitude and put effort into school, it will be much easier to be successful in life than if you just slugged your way through life. Not everyone gets the opportunity of a good schooling though, and this is not in one's control. When you get past your teen age years you'll probably find yourself in bed thinking about how you could have handled previous experiences in life different then they actually did. When we were younger none of us had the same level of judgement we have today, so we can not reasonably expect to have made all the best decisions for ourselves. Sometimes it's easy to wish we had though. Things like, "I should have studied more, or I should have been nicer to someone", are things we can dwell on but we take these for granted. Many people don't have the luxury of wishing they studied more for their exam. Many people can't plan for their majors because they simply don't have the opportunity to. Do you have control over your own life? Yes. But you can't control all the factors that are involved in your life so you have to make do with what hand has been given to you. Acer005
ReplyDeleteIn our modern society we are taught certain morals and values. Some people claim to follow these morals and values, but are lying sacks of crap. The people that are so whole heatedly believing that they are right that they will try to do terrible things to people that challenge their beliefs. These people are the reason internet trolls exist, ok. They abandon sociological values and morals to try to be right. I've seen people push their closest friends away from them doing this. I hope to know more by the semester ends. Paddle005
ReplyDeleteI've never really thought in depth about what leads to basic human actions nor situations. I understand the cause(s) between some things that we do I just choose not to think about. Sociology is the study of human societies, this explains the link between our actions and society. It's just as important to remember, however, that much of our actions are not influenced just by external stimuli, but also internal causes. A great example of this is our genetics, or our "Fight or Flight" response. These are factors that we cannot almost ever control, these responses have been in our genetic code for millions of years ago. This was to protect our bodies and to help us survive. In many cases our body can defend itself without our being aware. For example; Why do we get sick? When we get sick our body is attempting to protect itself from a virus or infection that it finds to be unnatural or possibly dangerous. We have no control whether or not we get sick, our body decides for us. These are only a few examples, there are many more. In conclusion while yes, there are many links between our actions, we must not forget biology's influence. 4D6178005
ReplyDeleteThe mentioning of “power and knowledge are intimately linked” really stuck out to me. That is something I have thought about a lot in many different circumstances. A lot of the topics mentioned I have thought about. I never really expected simple mundane things to neccessarily have a meaning, but after hearing it and thinking about it it makes perfect sense for it to. I have never really thiought about suicide as a social act or that religon or ethnicity or gender could impact it in any way. I had always seen it simply as deeply mentally sick people looking for a way out. The study of what causes deviancy was really interesting to me. I have always been really curious about why certain things are deviant and why other things aren’t. And I also think it is kind of beautiful that it is different to everyone based on their experiences and where they live and all other internal and external factors. lucy005
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