Social Networking I have chosen social networking sites to analyze and apply the three major sociological perspectives to. Other possible choices included fraternities and sororities and employer/employee relations. I chose to use social networking sites because I feel that, of the three options, it is the one I am most interested in and can relate to most. Social networking is used by people of many different backgrounds and for a variety of reasons. From keeping in contact and sharing information with friends and relatives, to promoting a business, organization, product, or service, to networking for employment, social networking has proven to be very useful for its intended purpose. At the same time, it has also proven to cause many problems for individuals, businesses, or organizations.
Functionalism
The sociological perspective of functionalism incorporates the ideas that each part of society has a need for the others and that is how and why the society is able to function. Social networking supports this idea by allowing everyone to stay in contact with each other. Different societies from all over the world are able to instantly connect and communicate with others. In addition, we are able to immediately share information with others. This rapid pace of contact and communication allows us as different individuals, groups, cultures, and backgrounds to learn, grow, and integrate new information, if we so choose, into our lives much more quickly than with no social networking. After all, the purpose of “networking” is to meet people, make contact, interact, and exchange ideas or information.
Conflict
The basic theme of the conflict theory sociological perspective includes the idea that people are competing for limited resources.
Interactionism
