Applying the Sociological Perspectives

Samantha Craig

Soc/100

3/19/2015

Becky Russell

Introduction

In the modern era, Social networking sites are all the rage and allow those with the capability to gain access and undeniable amount of information at the tap of a finger. The ability to have interaction with anyone from all over the world has influenced how we communicate, build relationships and interact with people on a day to day basis. The Study of Sociology is used every day by everyone even those who don't realize it. Sociology is more a study of how people interact in a social or societal setting. Sociology is based on three broad perspectives that are known as Conflict, functionalist, and interactionist. This paper will cover how the each one of these particular perspectives is used individually to analyze the issue of Social Media Sites. Included will be how these sites help people from different cultures learn, develop and become integrated into society.

Conflict Perspective

First, is the conflict perspective which is defined as "A theory that looks at society as competition for limited resources." (Kerins, Strayer, Griffiths, Rydzewski, Scaramuzzo, Sadler &Vyain, N.D) Social Networking sites are popular as ever in anyone of all different ages and cultures. This particular study shows that those who have more followers are the ones with more power while those who have few followers becomes just another name on a social site. Those individuals who have an extreme amount of fans can help sway political votes, advertise for products and most importantly bring awareness to problems in areas from all over the world.

Functionalist Perspective

Second, there is the functionalist perspective that is defined as "A theoretical approach that sees society as a structure with interrelated parts designed to meet the biological and social needs of individuals that make up that society." (Kerins, Strayer, Griffiths, Rydzewski, Scaramuzzo, Sadler &Vyain, N.D) Sense there is a mass amount of social networking sites such as Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, snap chat, and even more that are being developed each individual to connect and follow other people from anywhere in the world. This can influence not only how the person can contribute to society, but also helps them develop as an individual. According to (Kemp, 2015) "In November 2014 there was over three billion global users of the internet." This also shows that not every country has the same amount of people or the time spent on these sites.

Interactionist Perspective

Third is interactionist perspective. This one is "study how we use and interpret symbols not only to communicate with each other, but also to create and maintain impressions of ourselves, to create a sense of self, and to create and sustain what we experience as the reality of a particular social situation." (Crossman, 2014) This allows new meanings and words into society through social networking. Many new words have hit different cultures such as Hashtag, trending, tweeting, following, trending and even defriending. Social networking sites allow people to feel a sense of belonging. This study helps build stronger relationships with individuals from anywhere while also building skills to communicate with others.

Conclusion

In conclusion, when it comes to social networking sites it is all about how individuals from all over the world and from different cultures can all come together for various reasons. All three of these perspectives complement each other when trying to figure out how these particular sites help influence social interaction and how the skills can be learned and developed. Conflict perspective allows those who have massive amounts of followers to bring awareness to causes instantly and also have a power of persuasion on new products and political views. Functionalism allows individuals to connect and contribute ideas to games, programs, products and even to society on the deeper issues. However, the biggest one I believe that plays the more significant part is interactionist perspective. This one is more powerful due to it doesn't leave out any particular group or person. It is where an individual builds healthy relationships while staying true to themselves.

References

Kemp, S. (2015, January). Global Digital & Social Media Stats . Social Media Today, (), Retrieved from

Crossman, A. (2014, December). Interactionalist Perspective. About Education, (), Retrieved from

Keirns, N. J., Strayer, E., Griffiths, H., Cody-Rydzewski, S., Scaramuzzo, G., Sadler, T., & Vyain, S. (n.d.). Introduction to sociology. OpenStax College.