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Social Perspective Essay

Sociology Symbolic interactionism is the theory suggesting human beings are best understood in "interactive relation to their environment," (University of Twente, 2014). The three core principles of symbolic interactionism including meaning, language, and thought. Meaning refers to the fact that people ascribe meaning to their relationships, institutions, and other social structures. This meaning is what guides human emotion and cognition. Language is the symbolic type of human communication. Like meaning, language also impacts human emotional and cognitive states. Thus, the third component of symbolic interactionism is thought. How a person perceives, judges, and interacts with the world is covered by symbolic interactionism. Symbolic interactionism also suggests that the self is a mirror for others, and vice-versa in what is known as the "looking glass self," ("The Symbolic Interactionist Perspective," n.d.). Symbolic interactionism is an ideal sociological lens through which to understand how social media has transformed the nature of human relationships and interactions.

Social media like Facebook and Twitter require the individual to establish an online presence, through which interactions with other people take place in the digital, online environment. Meaning is already being ascribed to social media. Social media is an example...

49). Social media is perceived as being inherently meaningful, as the primary means by which users interact with social organizations, their friends, businesses, politics, and social causes. In fact, social media may be integral to political movements because it has been viewed as the most relevant and useful form of communication (Satell, 2014). Not only is the media itself the message, but social media also contains an endless supply of potential meanings in what people post and share through social media. Photographs of people's food, family events, and travels have meaning for the person sharing, and that meaning changes depending who is viewing the person's feed or profile.
Language is another component of symbolic interactionism. Social media both depends upon and transcends language. Social media depends upon language as posts on Facebook and Twitter are verbal in nature even when there are photographs and other digital media attached. However, there is also a nonverbal aspect to social media communication. Not all people prefer language as a means to communicate, which is why Instagram and Pinterest are popular alternatives or complements to Facebook or Twitter. The language of imagery and art supplants language, but also relies…

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References

Fernback, J. (2007). Beyond the diluted community concept. New Media and Society 9(1), 49-69.

Satell, G. (2014). If you doubt that social media has changed the world, take a look at Ukraine. Forbes. Retrieved online: http://www.forbes.com/sites/gregsatell/2014/01/18/if-you-doubt-that-social-media-has-changed-the-world-take-a-look-at-ukraine/

"The Symbolic Interactionist Perspective," (n.d.). Retrieved online: https://www.boundless.com/sociology/textbooks/boundless-sociology-textbook/sociology-1/the-theoretical-perspectives-in-sociology-24/the-symbolic-interactionist-perspective-157-3185/

University of Twente (2014). Symbolic interactionism.
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