Sociological Forces Shaping Human Development
For centuries, there has been an ongoing debate on the subject of nature vis-à-vis nurture in human development. While nature is highly dependent on the genetic composition, nurture relies on the environment, sociological forces. The people and the events that we interact with to a great extent shape our behavior and personality. Presumably, nurture acts correctly on nature to silhouette us in order to fit in our specific environment. The most notable sociological forces that impact our development include time, place and date of birth, age, gender, ethnicity, nationality, family background, social class, birth order, cultural and family inheritances, generation and generation size and timing of our biographies. This paper will exhaustively discuss the dynamics mentioned above and critically examine both their advantages and disadvantages.
Gender
The rise of feminism has prompted many nations and cultures to advocate for similar rights for both genders. Contemporarily, females enjoy similar rights as their male counterparts. However, some cultures have been reluctant in implementing gender equality. For instance, the Islam women are still living in patriarchal societies with the rule that a man is equated to two females (Krisberg 158).
In my society, the rule of equality for both genders has been fully implemented. The fact that my life is not dominated by male characters gives me a sense of independence. I am certain that my decisions are respected. I can access similar privileges with the male gender. The wiping out of gender stereotyping perfectly works to my advantage.
However, the provision of gender equality in the legal systems has not always proved to be a perfect idea (Krisberg 155). I have severally encountered criticisms from male colleagues related to equality. I often feel disgusted when I seek help on a particular job from them, and they give the obvious response that women are equal to men. This implies that I should be capable of doing everything that they can do. Should I swallow the feministic ego and accept that I am a weaker identity or strive for absolute equality.
Time and Date of Birth
In the past decades, technology has noticeably evolved. I was born in the digital era when people had ceased battling with huge loads of work to meet ends meet. Particularly, I was born in August. Although researchers argue that August babies are unlikely to do well in class work, I have somehow managed to stay at the top of my class. In the technology era, things have been made much easier. I do not have to read huge loads of books to perform well.
However, I think our intellectual capacity is gradually decreasing (Merton 164). We can hardly do things that used to be much easier to perform in the past (Ossewaarde 162). Perhaps, the technology is killing our abilities. The fact that I was born in August still makes me feel disgraced. The first experience with people is never among the best experience. The society has already profiled me as a low performer, and I have to prove my potential.
Age
Aging comes with lots of responsibilities and expectations from the general public. (Ossewaarde 168) When you are growing up, an increase in age should consequently result into an increase in maturity and responsibility. I am still enjoying my late teens, and this helps me escape some social roles. This, however, does not give me any comfort for I will not escape them forever. Being a teen, I am freer to socialize on the social media platforms since no one can criticize this. I can post any photo with my friends as long as it does not violate my principles.
The experiences in my teenage are not always fulfilling. I have to study and study hard. I am too much attached to my books for everyone expects me to excel. I have to make my family and friends proud of me. No one coerces me to study, but I have too. This is somehow demanding perhaps when I am done with my studies I will have more time for leisure.
Race
Ideally, being white is a guarantee of perfection. The fact that I am a white and the whites are exceptional and presumably better than the other races gives me some sense of pride. This gives me the feeling that I have an outstanding identity. Being white is also disappointing. I usually feel that people expect so much from me. I have to be perfect, intelligent and perhaps wealthy (Wallerstein 133). Again, not everyone sees sense in whiteness. We are at times profiled as the most racialist group. When in a company of non-white friends, I feel misplaced and wish it were possible to rebrand myself.
Nationality and Place of Birth
The state and specific place where a person is born has a great impact on their lives. Somebody born in a world economic superpower like America is more elevated than a person born in a Third World country (Merton 166). The fact that the country is politically and economically stable opens up so many opportunities to be explored. I was born in America and am very proud of this. It is among the celebrated world states and almost everyone given an opportunity would seek American citizenship. What people do not recognize is that though there are so many opportunities to be explored in the state, there is too much competition. Everyone strives to share in the goodies attached to greatness.
Ethnicity
Our ethnic groups speak quite a lot about us including our social habits, personalities, academic achievements and even our wealth levels. Although these are never a perfect representation at personal levels, they could be used to give a glimpse of who we are (Wallerstein 133). Those whose tribes are well profiled usually have some added advantage over the negatively profiled ethnic groups. This implies that all the groups are exceptional for they can perform one or two perfectly. The disadvantage arises when some groups feel more exceptional than the others.
Family Background
Family background forms a basis of our identity. It is quite unfortunate that people use our backgrounds to sketch us, our abilities, personalities, and behavior. I do not regret the fact that I was born to a middle-class family. At least, I have had the chance to explore some, though not as much I could have wished to, opportunities in life.
The limitation attached to being born to a middle-class family is that one is hardly able to explore all that he or she could wish to. One has to struggle by him/herself as there are no leads to higher achievements. If hard work and luck do not work in your favor, you will end up being unrecognized in the current world.
Birth Order
Siblings born to the same family are not usually alike in all dimensions. The firstborn children tend to be conditioned to achieve, middle accommodative and the last ones at delight and content. Being a first born has taught me responsibility. I learned the saying, ‘survival of the fittest’ and have always lived by its dictates. Perhaps am much hardened than my siblings and have learned all the possible survival tactics. Being a firstborn to me implies being a high achiever. Similarly, my opinions matter a lot unlike the case with my siblings.As much as I try seeking comfort in my zone, I sometimes lose it and admire the attention, limited responsibilities, and approval that the babies get from the family. Being a firstborn attracts too many undesired reprimands. You can never escape a disciplinary action for your wrongs. There are too many responsibilities attached to a firstborn especially in the absence of the parents (Ossewaarde 172).
Cultural and Family Inheritances
The times when families and cultures used to give some valuables to their generations are long gone. Personally, I am not entitled to any wealth either on cultural basis or by family agreements. I have grown cognizant of this, and it acts as my motivator towards hard work. The only favors that I can get from my family are only educating me, and after education, I should start depending on my effort.
Ideally, this is sometimes unfair, and it compels people into antisocial acts in the name of independence (Ossewaarde 172). We as human beings are preprogrammed to seek approval from our colleagues by whatever means. The compulsion to independence is doing worse than good. In my opinion, those who are unable to sustain their lives should be given some favors to help establish themselves.
Generation and Generation Size
A child born in America in the 21st century is far much different to those born in the preceding generations. For instance, in a classroom situation, different generations of learners will have different reactions towards the same learning experience. Those born during the Silent generation (1920s to 1940s) are more likely to work harder than the millennial generation (1980s-2000s) (Merton 172). We born in the millennial age were certain that our parents were financially stable. We are the most educated even though there is a lot that we missed. We are fond of rocking in proverbial boats supposedly because we are in a free world. If we were born in the era of the world wars and conquests, we would have learned to stay with our mouths shut and heads down as a means of unspoken progress and steadiness
Timing of our Biographies
The specific period when a bibliography is written greatly affects the content in the bibliography. Bibliographies written later in life are more likely to have more achievements than those written in the earlier stages of life. There are some basic happenings in history that make our biographies more outstanding than those written in our past time or come after.
Basically, social forces are impulses or urges that propel us to specific social actions. They help us to position ourselves to be in consensus with the social dictates. This is what qualifies us to be fully fledged individuals of certain social groups. Failure to respond to the forces effectively attracts criticisms from the public. Typically, they are the fundamentals that enable us to fit in certain societal associations and relationships.