Sociological Perspectives

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Sociological Perspectives Social networking sites have become so common that over two-thirds of the adult population all across the world uses one or the other kind of social media, such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram and many others. Sociologists offer a window into how individuals present and differentiate themselves while using social networking sites. The sociological perspectives, namely, functionalism, conflict and interactionism facilitate understanding the social relationships of individuals through the use of social networking sites (Ferrante, 2013, p. 109). According to functionalism, social networking sites determine how various parts of the society function in order to maintain social order. On the other hand, conflict…show more content…
Some of the expected functions of social networking sites are that they enable connections among family members, friends and various others, thereby allowing them to share pictures, videos and events (Ferrante, 2013, p. 110). Social networking sites also support discussions among like-minded people in regards to their hobbies and interests. They are a great means of establishing and maintaining contacts with a greater number of people when compared to non-digital means of maintaining contacts. Since it is not possible to manage connections with everyone through face-to-face meetings and phone calls, social networking sites are the best medium that allows individuals to maintain unlimited number of…show more content…
Such symbolic interactions not only imply the concept of negotiated order, but also allow individuals to handle the dynamics related to dealing with friend requests from undesired ones and strangers (Ferrante, 2013, p. 111). Interactionism emphasizes on the number of individuals a person maintains contact with on social networking sites and the proportion of face-to-face interactions versus online interactions. It also helps to understand how social networking sites diminish the human relationships and their contacts with one another. Interactionism primarily concerns with the behavior of individuals on social networking sites on a person-to-person level. It also focuses on how individuals react to a post on the social networking sites and how they convey mood to their peers (Ferrante, 2013, p. 111). In other words, interactionism defines the experiences of individuals in interpreting, influencing and responding to social networking

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