An essay that I wrote for Sociology 101 about the socialization throughout my life cycle

1. Socialization across the Life Cycle 1
Running head: Socialization across the Life Cycle 1
Socialization across the Life Cycle
Sarah Lazio-Maimone
Monroe Community College

2. Socialization across the Life Cycle 2
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to detail my own personal socialization that I’ve
experienced throughout my life. It will contain facts about my life cycle including:
my childhood, adolescence, and adulthood thus far. I will go through how each life
cycle has been affected by certain influences such as: my parents, my school and
mass media.
Keywords: Socialization, Life Cycle, Childhood, Adolescence, Adulthood, mass
Media

3. Socialization across the Life Cycle 3
Socialization across the Life Cycle
Socialization is the process by which people develop a sense of self and learn
the ways of society. There are many agents of socialization that contribute to
shaping our sense of self and teach us about certain groups that we do or do not
belong to. Three of these socialization agents are: family, schools and mass
media.Throughout the stages of a person’s life cycle, certain agents of socialization
have different amounts of significance due to that stage.
Ever since I was little, I can remember how important family, school, and
mass media were to me. During my childhood stage, my socialization was a key
factor to how the rest of my life would develop. My parents were the greatest agent
of socialization to me at the time. They decided what I would wear to school, when I
could hang out with my friends, and what I ate for dinner. It didn’t matter to them
what I wanted to do, it was always what they wanted me to do. The second most
important socialization agent to me during my childhood stage was school. I can
remember how quickly trends in elementary school spread. Whether it was
Pokémon, Beyblades or American Girl Dolls; if your friends had them, you had to as
well. The least important influence on my socialization throughout my childhood
stage was mass media. This socialization agent wasn’t as important at the time
because whether or not I was watching something that had bad morals or good I
didn’t understand the difference. If Britney Spears was singing about being a slave
for someone, I thought about it as innocently as possible, because honestly, I didn’t
know what it meant.

4. Socialization across the Life Cycle 4
When I became an adolescent, that’s when everything changed. The agents of
socialization that previously had the most importance became miniscule. Mass
media quickly became the most important ingredient to my socialization. I was
easily influenced by what celebrities thought was cool. I can remember watching
The O.C. religiously; I watched it every Thursday night at 9:00 PM. In the show, they
had a café that they always went to at their school. Suddenly, going to Starbucks
with your friends was the cool thing to do. The second most important agent of
socialization was still school. My friends had a huge impact on what was cool or not.
I recall there was this brief phase where decorating your homework agenda was the
thing to do. Everyone would proudly show each other their agendas with cool
stickers or pictures on them. In my adolescent phase, everyone was obsessed with
being cool. My parents’ socialization agent quickly fell to the bottom on my list of
priorities. This was my rebellious phase; it didn’t matter what my parents would say
about things, I always did what I wanted. If I wanted to wear flip-flops in the middle
of winter, there was nothing my parents could do to change my mind.
As I reached adulthood, my socialization agents shuffled around again. The
most important agent became school. Who you hang out with defines who you are
as a person. Likewise, your friend’s interests quickly become your interests. Social
media quickly became the key ingredient to finding out the latest trends. The second
most important socialization agent to me is now mass media. Following celebrities
over the internet has never been easier. The greatest mass media influence on me is
music. I find everything I experience in my life has a soundtrack. Not only do the
actual songs bring importance to me, the people playing the music themselves are

5. Socialization across the Life Cycle 5
just as significant. If my favorite singer wears plaid shirts and skinny jeans, there’s
no question that you’ll probably see me wearing similar styles. Thirdly, my parents
bear the least significance to the socialization in my life. No longer do I need to look
to my parents for transportation or money. I am able to lead an independent life,
without much influence from my parents.
The life cycle that one is experiencing can greatly affect their socialization
patterns. It’s interesting how in one part of your life a certain agent of socialization
can be so important while in another it can become minuscule. In my life, I found
that I’ve always been able to maintain good morals, even with the constant changing
of socialization agents. Even as I get older and eventually become middle aged; I
know that I will still be subjected to many influences in my socialization.