Introduction to Contemporary Society

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Introduction: Socialisation is extremely important to human development. It is the process by which humans learn how to successfully interact with each other and the world around them. Through secondary socialisation we develop our own values and beliefs, learn about laws and customs and gain information and knowledge about what is expected and acceptable in our society. Frequently this is done unconsciously as we are often unaware it is occurring. I would like to address the following three agents for analysis and discussion; Family, School and Media. These three agents have a major influence on my socialisation to this day. Each agent, in a different way has contributed to my beliefs and values and affects the way I look at the world around me. My first agent is family; Family is my first priority in life and like many things it continues to evolve, with new members arriving and others leaving. I believe families can be made up of many different structures and not all members need to be blood related. I began my life in a very small town; the culture I grew up in is what many people refer to as ‘small town culture’. This is where everyone knows everyone else, and usually most of their private business as well. Of course at times this causes conflict; however it also creates a sense of belonging in the community. It was mostly a working class (people who rely on manual labour for their income) environment. We were a nuclear family, (a married couple and their biological children living together in the one household). My family consisted of my father, my mother, two brothers and three sisters. Ours was a patriarchal house hold, (where men are the head of the family, decision makers over the women and children). My father would give my mother the housekeeping money each week and then distribute the remainder of the weekly wage to where he saw fit. As it was in
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