How Media Shaped My Life

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Question: Critically describe and explain how one agent/institution of (re-)socialisation (i.e. family, work, school, church) has served to shape and inform your identity. In every person’s life there are many contributing agents of socialisation that shape identity. These agents can be family, work, school or even the media. The media, which also includes social networking, has had a significant effect on my life. It is a primary and secondary form of socialisation (Smith, 2012) as it has been present in my life since i was a child. The introduction of social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and even YouTube has created a new generation of adolescents that are more aware and in touch than ever before. The social pressure to constantly stay in touch and know what is happening in the world has made me who I am today. It is contributing factors like the introduction of Facebook, Newspapers/magazines and TV that have shaped and formed my identity. When i was 13 years of age my family finally allowed me to start using computers, which i used to play games and chat to friends. It wasn’t until I was 15 that I decided to join Facebook due to the strong recommendations of my friend. I joined the site expecting to just talk to friends as usual, but i ended up changing how i communicated in order to conform to the new socially acceptable or “cool” way. Swearing became more frequent and i also noticed that i became more judgemental of people i had never talked to before. I would also judge people who didn’t have Facebook, saying things like “You don’t have Facebook? How can you not have Facebook?” I judged anyone that didn’t have Facebook, seeing them as weird and introverted. It was simple and minor things like this that changed my personality completely; however, it was not all the media’s doing. Society’s view on what is “the norm” showed me that having

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