The Evolution of the American Families

Agents of socialization denote those significant people, groups, and institutions that shape an individual’s sense of self and social identity, and help the concerned individual in realizing his/her capacities and limitations as human beings (“Agents of Socialization”, n.d.). These agents play the role of teachers teaching an individual how to negotiate with the world and social environment in which he/she dwells (“Agents of Socialization”, n.d.). The list of the agents of socialization can be a huge one but in reality there are specific agents of socialization which should be mentioned before analyzing the significance of the role of any one of these agents of socialization in an individual’s evolution. The primary agents of socialization are the family, friends, peers, and educational institutions. And among them family should be considered as a pivotal one. This is because family “gives individuals their deepest and earliest experiences with relationships and their first exposure to the rules of life. In addition, the family teaches its members about the world in which they live and ways to respond to it” (“Agents of Socialization”, n.d.). Hence, it is obvious that like in any other societies of the world, in the American society too, the emphasis on the evolution of American families must be observed and analyzed to ascertain the reasons behind the evolution of the social viewpoints on the part of the consecutive generations of the Americans.

As stated earlier, family is the primary agent of socialization and keeping in mind this point one should try to analyze the changes that took place in the pattern and outlook of the American families over the last few decades to understand the changing psychology of American individuals. Today what we are seeing the American families to be was not the truth back in the 1960s. Since the 1960s the American families are changing and over the last 50 years one can observe a “dramatic rise in divorce (the U.S. has the highest of any industrialized nation), cohabitation rather than marriage, “blended” families of both gay and heterosexual design, and children born out of wedlock (more than half of all African-American children) (Castelloe, 2011). And all these must be considered as drastic changes. The emergence of the culture of egotism due to the financial boost experienced by the majority of the American populace in the post-1960s, contributed a lot to the growth of American individualism which in turn brought about conflict between married couples. Moreover, the culture of self-actualization, i.e. the “desire for self-fulfillment” (Cherry, n.d.), also dissuaded both American men and women from the playing their conventional gender roles in bringing up a family and this also contributed to the deterioration in the degree of cohesiveness within most of the American families. Furthermore, the continuous waves of feminism and the attempt to empower women in the American society did also contribute to the changes that eventually took place in the American family pattern after the 1960s. The economic empowerment of American women did contribute a lot in changing the American family pattern. It must be noted that “The rise of dual career, two-income marriages has also transformed domestic arrangements” (Castelloe, 2011). And this is a definite change to reckon with. Again, the evolution of social media has also contributed significantly in reshaping the American family ties. It is the influence of the social networking sites that has turned the attention of the American children from real relationships to the virtual ones, and this is detrimental for the future of American family life. It must be admitted that affecting the American family pattern thoroughly social networking sites like Facebook have become the surrogate parents and the “proliferation of technologies like social networking, cell phones, and video games have altered how children relate to significant others” (Castelloe, 2011). Besides, it must be mentioned that the change in the American family pattern is also related to the concepts of class, race, gender, and personal choice. The race factor, since the emergence of America as a multiracial country, has played an important role in shaping the American families and “the value of families themselves have often, in this country, been affected by the factor of race” (Perry, n.d.). The factor of social class along with the factor of race has gradually shaped the viewpoints of the families composed of American blacks. It is a fact that the blacks in America “as a subordinate group must often use independent judgment about majoritarian values, and create and pass on to their children values that are alternatives to, or even in opposition, those of the larger society” (Perry, n.d.). And apart from all these, it must be admitted that the theory of personal choice as propagated by the feminist theories, has also instigated American women to adhere to their own will and desires, which, in some cases, is impacting hugely on the American family pattern.

It must be noted that though the American families have changed a lot since the 1960s and though there have been some disadvantages of such changes, some benefits of such social changes should not be overlooked. The diversification in the pattern of American families has paved the way for the reduction in the inclination towards racism and this in turn has led to the diminishing of the concept of segregation. The acceptance of inter-racial marriages, inter-class marriages, and the admittance to individuals having different sexual orientations to be within the social institutions like family, all are going to the enrich the cultural heritage of the country in a positive manner and this enhancement can also contribute to the economic growth of the U.S. either in a direct or in an indirect way because a country’s economic prosperity largely depends on its social organization and cultural norms. Moreover, the trend of empowering women in the U.S. should be sustained because such empowerment is necessary to establish a just and equal society. And the U.S. populace should not try to establish the pre-World War II social norms because that would mean the subordination of women and the reincarnation of uncontrollable male domination which would not be a healthy thing for the democratic American society anymore.

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References

Agents of Socialization (n.d.). Retrieved July 31, 2013, from https://www.inkling.com/read/seeing-sociology-joan-ferrante-1st/chapter-3/module-3-5

Castelloe, M. (2011). The Me in We. Retrieved July 31, 2013, from http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-me-in-we/201104/changes-in-the-american-family

Perry, T.L. (n.d.). Family Values, Race, Feminism and Public Policy. Retrieved July 31, 2013, from http://www.scu.edu/ethics/publications/other/lawreview/familyvalues.html

What Is Self-Actualization? (n.d.). Retrieved July 31, 2013, from http://psychology.about.com/od/theoriesofpersonality/a/hierarchyneeds_2.htm