Social Institutions Nowadays - Essay Example

s An is generally perceived as an established and standardized practice or rather a law which governs one of more aspects of the society. Since institutions serve a specific kind of a need for the individuals living in a society, they function as a very significant unit of social life. For this reason, sociologists have been engaged in learning about various aspects and dimensions of various institutions for quite some time now. However, it would be an exaggeration to state that various sociologists have determined a coherent thought about the institutions that are operational in a society. Instead, various sociologists serve a particular theoretical framework which then serves as their blueprint to understand the concepts involved in the working of the institution (Adams & Sydie 2001). To prove the point, media may be taken as one of the most crucial institutions in the present age to see how various theoretical paradigms seek an understanding about this institution. An application of three major theoretical paradigms in sociology, i.e. functionalism, conflict theory and also interactionist perspective can prove to be helpful in understanding the inherent differences in the arguments of the sociologists. The paper will aim at arguing how proponents of all schools of thought will agree over the point that mass media plays a significant role in influencing the opinion of the public, yet all theories would have divergent views on the nature of influence mass media would leave on the society and also how the public would be influenced. Mass media, as agreed by the scholarly community, incorporates various channels and mediums to deliver information and entertainment to a large aggregate of individuals in a community. In other words, mass media seeks to offer various array of information and content to its audience while communicating with the public using various tools and techniques. Mass media can be taken as a contemporary institution since the evolution of the institution is a modern phenomenon. In other words, the closed societies with strict norms and orthodox mores didn`t have this institution since back in the time (and even in a few tribal areas in the modern times), the needs of the society were being fulfilled by virtue of interaction, group dynamics and procedures like rumors and gossip. Since the community was comparatively smaller in size, information was also limited in scope which was communicated by various social actors within the community. However, with expansion, urbanization, education, awareness, improved infrastructure and job specialization, the need to seek information from distant areas enhanced. Also, with increased work hours and change in recreational activities, the norms of social contact also changed. Thus, technological advanced paved way for devices like radio, television and now internet, due to which society naturally determined standardized procedures resulting in mass media as a modern institution. Given the scope, function and standardized rules which govern the institution of mass media, various theories can be applied and thus, the institution can be understood via applying various approaches of sociology. Assessing the institution, the proponents of functionalism would argue that since all social institutions are present to serve a particular function in the society, mass media is also one of those institutions which are in place to maintain harmony in the community. In this context, mass media would serve as a medium which would articulate the diverse viewpoints of the public and present them in a coherent form to maintain discipline in the community. Furthermore, it would act as a tool of advocacy for some, while a channel for catharsis for other. Yet, for a few people this would be an institution which would seek to fulfill the hunger and desire for information. Therefore, media acts as a harmony inducing institution for functionalists who feel that mass media aims at enhancing inter-connectedness in a society. For instance, in a modern democratic society like the USA, a multitude of opinions and communities reside, all of whom have a particular position on an issue and all of whom are aiming at expresses their concerns on a medium. In absence of mass media like Newspaper, Television, even social media, all of these diverse communities would fail to communicate their viewpoints with each other. Therefore, to harmonize the society and create space for all elements of a society, laws and procedures were put into place to bring mass media as an institution. Thus, for a functionalist, mass media would merely be a tool being used to harmonize the society. In contrast to functionalists, the conflicts theorists would contend on completely varying lines. A conflict theorist would be of the opinion that mass media is merely a tool in hands of the powerful individuals in the society which they manipulate to influence the masses in such a way that the ‘have nots’ tend to be contributing towards the well being of the ‘haves’. In other words, theorists like Marx and Hegel have pointed out towards two ends of a spectrum prevailing in the society i.e. those who control the society with money, power and influence, and secondly those who are being controlled, oppressed and exploited. Mass media has thus emerged as a result of the need of the powerful capitalists to manipulate the intellect of the poor labor class who would be tricked into believing that authority rests in the capitalists. For this reason, a conflict theorist would point out towards the advertisements and opinion builders on mass media who tend to exaggerate the significance of capitalistic products in their life to promote the slave mindset in the lives of the poor. For instance, this perspective would argue that in the US, the mass media is functional to serve the interests of the powerful capitalists by giving information but also manipulating the information at the expense of the poor. Therefore, conflict theories argue that mass media is nothing but a tool to enhance conflict between the rich and poor in the society. A third view point contrasts with both the aforementioned views, i.e. an interactionist theoretical paradigm which focuses on the interactive patterns related to the institution as the name suggests. This perspective would see the micro-level significance of the institution of mass media which implies that individuals and their role towards the institution would also be analyzed. That is, mass media is a result of the interaction and articulation of the society where the individuals have over-time developed a norm to use social media as information seeking and information building medium. In other words, a interactionist would understand the symbolic narrative behind the institution of mass media which implies that mass media is the product of human need to acquire information and also to influence the decision makers by giving a feedback to the policy makers. Therefore, in such a scenario, the interactive patterns of the actors in the society would be analyzed over time to see how the institution took the shape which it has acquired presently. For instance, in the US, in the aftermath of World War II and also after an interest in education and information sharing, various actors of the society contributed in developing various conglomerates to commercialize various aspects of media. Therefore, with time as the element of advertisement was routinized and the cost of acquiring media for individuals was decreased drastically, social media emerged. Thus, only after intense interaction amongst various segments of society were rules and standard procedures of mass media developed. Thus, while all three theorists would agree on the basic purpose of mass media, i.e. to shape the opinion of the public, the explanations behind the working and the purpose of opinion formation would be different. There is coherence in thought amongst all school of thought on the point that mass media is one such institution which isn`t only central to the society, rather it is an association of ideas and concepts which tends to shape the society in a certain way. However, while agreeing on the functional aspect of social media, while speaking of the dysfunction, various contrasts can be sensed which add divergence to the understanding of the institution. While functionalists tend to underline the harmony aspect of mass media, the conflict theorists would highlight the conflict perspective. Similarly, interactionists would simply point to mass media as a result of intense interaction and communication patterns in a society which pave way for symbols, norms, social change and other similar elements. However, all perspectives are significant in understand various aspects of the society; in totality not any single one of the perspectives can completely be disregarded. Therefore, conclusively, it must be realized how institutions serve a specific kind of a need for the individuals living in a society; they function as a very significant unit governing social life which not only impacts individuals in a society, but also effect other institutions operating in a society. For this reason, sociologists have been engaged in learning about various aspects and dimensions of various institutions for quite some time now all sociologists agree on the standardized working of an institution and thus they argue that institution is the basic unit of social life in a community. That is, There is coherence in thought amongst all school of thought on the point that mass media is one such institution which isn`t only central to the society, rather it is an association of ideas and concepts which tends to shape the society in a certain way. Yet, how an institution serves its purpose in a society and what role that institution plays in the development of social life is an area where the sociologists tend to have diverging views. While a functionalist would argue that an institution acts and harmonizing agent while serving a particular function, a conflict theorist would state that an institution is conflictual in character and tends to further widen gaps between the powerful and the powerless in the society. Yet, an interactionist would see an institution as a symbol of interactionist patterns in a society. Though all viewpoints are quite distinct, yet all offer an understanding to the patterns inherent in an institution, thus all viewpoints must be given some weight while analyzing any situation. Therefore, to understand any institution in totality, including that of mass media, all perspectives must be analyzed which commenting on certain aspects of the issue. Works Cited: Adams, B. N., & Sydie, R. A. (2001). Sociological theory. Thousand Oaks, Calif: Pine Forge Press. Read More