Socialization of the individual is the process of his interaction with society, during which the individual assimilates social experience. A person forms a system of values, knowledge, norms of behavior, which allows him to realize his goals, successfully interact with other people and, in turn, influence society.
The two-sided nature of socialization
Usually, socialization is understood as the process of a person's entry into society, the assimilation of social experience and the formation of personal value orientations through interaction with other people. From this side, socialization is important for a person, because it helps him to feel like a full-fledged person, to discover the potential for useful activities, to understand his own goals and interests, and ultimately to feel comfortable in society.
The second side of socialization is the reproduction of social experience by an individual, which occurs due to active social activity. The acquired knowledge and skills do not remain just "baggage", they are passed on to the next generations of socializing individuals. From this position, socialization is useful for society - thanks to it, it develops, gaining more and more new active members.
The main stages of socialization
Human socialization develops in several stages. Primary socialization occurs in childhood, when the family is the main source of social experience for the child. It is family values that are assimilated in the first place, it is thanks to the family that the individual gradually enters other social communities. Secondary socialization occurs throughout the rest of a person's life and is superimposed on the results of the primary one.
Thanks to secondary socialization, the individual begins to consider himself part of a social group: religious, political, professional, etc. Even if a person says about himself: “I like to watch football”, “I like to go to the bathhouse with friends”, “I play online games” - this also indicates his successful socialization in various social groups (in this case, in interest groups).
Social experience is usually useful for a person and has practical value, but it can also weigh him down. Then resocialization takes place - the replacement of old attitudes and values with new ones. The main thing in this process is for a person to know what new values to focus on, otherwise resocialization will not go the best way, which will entail various violations (legal and social) on the part of the individual. The last step is desocialization. This process takes place from the moment of completion of labor activity (retirement) until the end of an individual's life. His social circle is sharply narrowed, and interaction with other members of society becomes problematic.
