Agent of Socialization Mass Media Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Agent of Socialization Mass Media - Term Paper Example â€Å"Similar to the concept of a business agent or insurance agent, they [agents of socialization] represent and act on behalf of the larger society† (â€Å"Agents of Socialization†, 2009). The most commonly recognized agents of socialization are family, media, peers and school (â€Å"Agents of Socialization†, 2009). To help understand how these agents impact the way we define ourselves, I have decided to analyze the impact of the media on my own personal development because the media, as one of the major agents of socialization, has definitely played a significant role in my life. Looking at the way media has shaped my life, it seems clear that it has played a role in just about everything I believe about myself. Gender socialization refers to â€Å"the ways in which society sets children onto different courses in life because they are male or female† (Henslin, 69). As a child, I learned that acceptable behavior for me as a boy was to engage in sports and racing like what I saw on cartoons. Social inequality, â€Å"a social condition in which privileges and obligations are given to some but denied to others† (Henslin 92), was assigned to those individuals who spent too much time reading, boys who acted like girls and girls. I learned how to behave like a boy by mimicking the role performance of the ‘cool guys’ on TV. Role performance refers to â€Å"the ways in which someone performs a role within the limits that the role provides; showing a particular ‘style’† (Henslin, 100). However, there were areas in which m y personality didn’t fully match with these expectations. For example, I loved growing things and taking care of plants, but this presented role conflict because only girls or geeks are supposed to like plants. Role conflict refers to â€Å"conflicts that someone feels between roles because the expectations attached to one role are incompatible with the expectations of another role† (Henslin, 100). Growing up paying