| Exercise 1
The Internet offers access to a wide range of information and advice to help one learn norms and understand group interaction. For this exercise, you will be examining one method of socialization via the Internet: the advice page. Log onto Yahoo's category listing for Prom advice (http://dir.yahoo.com/Society_and_Culture/Cultures_and_Groups/Teenagers/Prom/). Choose two of the sites listed and use them to complete the following exercise:
a. Using just what you can learn through these two Web sites, write a short description of the norms and rituals of Proms.
b. Are the norms that apply to men and to women discussed in equal detail?
c. Based on what you see on these Web sites, do you find norms to be better defined for men or for women?Exercise 2
One way to socialize someone into the role s/he will play is to mentor him/her. The National Mentoring Partnership has developed an on-line guide to mentoring. Go to the National Mentoring Partnership Web site (http://www.mentoring.org) and select “Become a Mentor”; scroll down in the text to the section “Learn to Mentor” and click on “Go to training” (written in red). Read through the Learn to Mentor course and answer the following questions:
a. What is the role of a mentor?
b. Why do you think mentors would have a significant impact on the socialization of young people?
c. Once you have read through the course, check what you have learned about mentoring by taking the quiz in Section 5. Exercise 3
Several agents of socialization were discussed in this chapter, including the family, the school, peers, and the mass media.
To what degree does the Internet serve as an agent of socialization?
The Internet may socialize people directly, or its impact may be that it magnifies or diminishes the effects of other agents of socialization.
At the same time, other agents of socialization may buffer or enhance the effects of the Internet.
To complete this exercise, use your browser to log into at least three of your favorite websites.
(If you have no favorite sites, use any search engine and type your three favorite leisure time activities-one at a
time-into the search window, click "search," and follow any links you choose.)
Think about how these sites may influence you and others your age.
Do the messages you receive from the sites complement or conflict with messages you receive
from other agents of socialization: parents, peers, school, and other media?
Speculate about how and why some agents of socialization are more important than others.
|
2002 McGraw-Hill Higher Education