Thinking Sociologically

    The other day, I was babysitting when I found myself thinking sociologically. The two little girls were talking about their day at school and all of the friends they played with. I thought about the chapter in the book that we read that talked about how socializing when young is crucial to the development of social skills.
    Hearing the little girls talk about their experiences with their friends made me think of my childhood and how much it has shaped who I am as a person today. I am a sociable person because I was able to interact with other children when I was young. I created relationships that influenced me as a person and my future relationships. It's crazy to think that pre-school could have had such a large effect on my life!

Thinking Sociologically

   I found myself thinking sociologically at the mall the other day when I walked around without shoes on. I got many strange looks and side-comments about the fact that I wasn't wearing shoes and I realized how it is breaking a folkway to not wear shoes in public. I also realized that most of the time, people won't think of the norms in our society until one is broken. For instance, I had never really thought twice about wearing shoes or not, but I never would have considered it a social folkway or norm if I hadn't done the experiment at the mall.
   Another time I found myself thinking sociologically was when my computer broke earlier this week. I realized how much technology is a big part of our culture in our society. I didn't know what to do with myself when my computer wasn't working and wasn't able to do half of my homework. Even right now, I couldn't  type this blog if my laptop wasn't working. From a functionalist perspective, many aspects of our society could not function without our advanced technology (businesses, schooling, factories, etc.).