Socialization is the lifelong process of learning social behaviors and norms through interactions with others. It occurs primarily through key agents of socialization like family, school, peers, media, and religion. Family is usually considered the most important agent as it is where we first learn close relationships, values, and beliefs. School teaches us social skills, obedience to authority, and competition. Peers become important as they allow children to socialize freely and learn from each other without adults. Mass media has a large influence on popular culture preferences through various channels. Religion is also a major agent that organizes social life through institutions like churches and temples. The impact of socialization depends on time and place factors like war versus peace.

1. Socialization

2. How do we learn to interact with other
people?
✩ Socialization is a lifelong process during which we
learn about social expectations and how to interact
with other people. Nearly all of the behavior that we
consider to be 'human nature' is actually learned
through socialization. And, it is during socialization
that we learn how to walk, talk, and feed ourselves,
about behavioral norms that help us fit in to our
society, and so much more.

3. ✩ Socialization occurs throughout our life, but some of
the most important socialization occurs in childhood.
So, let's talk about the most influential agents of
socialization. These are the people or groups
responsible for our socialization during childhood -
including family, school, peers, and mass media.

4. Family
✩ There is no better way to start than to talk about the role of family in
our social development, as family is usually considered to be the most
important agent of socialization. As infants, we are completely
dependent on others to survive. Our parents, or those who play the
parent role, are responsible for teaching us to function and care for
ourselves. They, along with the rest of our family, also teach us about
close relationships, group life, and how to share resources. Additionally,
they provide us with our first system of values, norms, and beliefs - a
system that is usually a reflection of their own social status, religion,
ethnic group, and more.

6. Example
✩ A young boy who lives in America, was born to an immigrant
family. He grew up bilingual and was taught the importance of
collectivistic values through socialization with his family. This
experience differs drastically from someone born to an older,
'traditional' American family that would emphasize the English
language and individualistic values.

7. School
✩ The next important agent of childhood socialization is the school.
Of course, the official purpose of school is to transfer subject
knowledge and teach life skills, such as following directions and
meeting deadlines. But, students don't just learn from the
academic curriculum prepared by teachers and school
administrators. In school, we also learn social skills through our
interactions with teachers, staff, and other students. For
example, we learn the importance of obeying authority and that
to be successful, we must learn to be quiet, to wait, and
sometimes to act interested even when we're not.

9. Example
✩ Alexander, like other children, might even learn things
from his teacher that she did not intend to teach. For
instance, he might learn that it's best to yell out an
answer instead of raising his hand. When he does so,
he gets rare attention from the teacher and is hardly
ever punished.

10. Peer group
✩ Peer groups are made up of age mates and those children who
share a similar status. Peer groups enable children to form
bonds on their terms and they learn from each other without an
authority figure present. Peer group socialization commences in
a child's formative years such as when kids playing in a
playground learn the aspect of taking turns. A child's initial peer
circle may be accidental such as, by way of joining a class, but
they become intentional in their choice of peers as they mature.

12. Example
✩ A crowd, as the name, shows it is just a collection of
people in large numbers in a disorganized way. They
may or may not know each other. For example,
candle marches for a cause can be termed as a
crowd. The marathons arranged for a social cause
comes under the crowded category.

13. Mass media
✩ The aspects of mass media include television programs,
magazines, radio, websites, music, and movies. These aspects
have been shown to influence an individual's preferences in
popular culture. Sociologists agree that the extent of the
influence of mass media is hard to measure. Mass media relays
impersonal information in a one-way direction to a passive
audience.

15. Example
✩ A girl watching a news about the the latest issue through internet.
People use the internet all the time to show off their product and ideas.
An example could be that the local flower shop is having a 50% off deal
and out it on the side of your screen so you can see it.People can use
internet news channels to watch and get informed on events and
current news.Websites and applications that enable users to create and
share content or to participate in social networking.People can use
YouTube to upload videos, comment on people's videos and also watch
other people's videos.

16. Religion
✩ Sociology of religion is the study of the beliefs, practices, and
organizational forms of religion using the tools and methods of
the discipline of sociology. Religion is one of the most important
agents of socialization and social control. It has a significant role
in organizing and directing social life. An organization like
temples, mosques, church, Gurudwaras etc.

18. Example
✩ Children raised in religious homes are more likely to
have some degree of religiosity in their lives. They
are also likely to raise their own children with religion
and to participate in religious ceremonies, such as
baptisms and wedding

19. ✩ The agents of socialization, thus have a very profound
effect on our personal and conceptual development.
They help us interact and communicate with society
and also to understand our social roles. However, the
impact these agents have on our lives, and
consequently on society, also depends largely on the
parameters of time and space. For instance, these
agents, though performing similar functions
worldwide, may have contradicting impact on the
mindset of the people of a country at war, as opposed
to the one at peace.